tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565Wed, 22 Jul 2015 21:20:39 +0000SeahawksRanking the Squads ProjectSuper BowlArizona CardinalsPittsburgh SteelersNFL Playoffs2005 SeasonNFL Draft2009 PredictionsMichael VickMock DraftsNFL Power Rankings2009 ScheduleBoston Red SoxJay CutlerMatt HasselbeckMinnesota VikingsPoliticsSeattle MarinersSounders FCSteve LargentT.J. Housemandzadeh49ersAdvertisingAll-DecadeAll-Decade TeamAtlanta FalconsBobby EngramBrett FavreCarolina PanthersCleveland BrownsDave KriegFriday Night LightsHall of FameJim MoraJoey GallowayMichael CrabtreeMike HolmgrenNew York JetsOhioRoad HouseSeahawks fashionSt. Louis RamsVideo GamesVideo TradingWestern Washington UniversityDave Krieg's Strike Beardhttp://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )Blogger952125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-5988778070877610162Wed, 22 Jul 2015 21:20:00 +00002015-07-22T16:20:39.301-05:00Your 2015 Seattle Seahawks Jersey Buying Guide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-__SG8SyX7T0/Va_0cw3HDnI/AAAAAAAAC6A/ohhT3Txd-t8/s1600/USATSI_7631625-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-__SG8SyX7T0/Va_0cw3HDnI/AAAAAAAAC6A/ohhT3Txd-t8/s400/USATSI_7631625-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With another Seahawks Training Camp looming, it's once again time for that annual DKSB tradition: The Jersey-Buying Guide. First, the usual general information and admonitions:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As usual, let's start with the 1st Commandment of jersey ownership: <b>NEVER PUT YOUR JERSEY IN THE DRYER!</b> Dryers kill jerseys! Don't do it under any circumstances. If you abide by this decree your jersey(s) should hold up for a nice, long spell. If possible, wash them on the delicate cycle in cold water by themselves.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">For the purposes of this article, I'm setting aside throwbacks, personalized jerseys and #12 jerseys (though I've changed my tune on the #12's over the years. I used to be dead-set against them, but given how precarious roster spots are under PCJS's rule, I can't blame a fan for playing it safe with such a substantial investment). I also feel strongly that there's no compelling reason to opt for the more opulent Nike models. The $100 replicas are plenty expensive enough, and will look sharp for years with proper care. If you are lucky enough to fit into a "youth" size, those are only about $70 (and I found out that Youth XL = Women's L, and that saved me $30).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">There's good news and bad news for those in the market for a new jersey this season. On one hand, you can get just about any jersey you can imagine or desire over <a href="http://www.nflshop.com/Seattle_Seahawks_Jerseys">at the NFL Shop site</a>. However, the terrifying reality is that the <a href="http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/2016/seattle-seahawks/">Seahawks have THIRTY-THREE players slated for free agency</a> after this season (<i>Holy shit!</i>). Like many of you, I've felt the sting of buying a jersey just to see that player leave Seattle a year (or less) later. My hope is that with this guide, I'll help you get a jersey that A) will be a good investment for years to come and B) will make you stand out from the crowd a bit.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>DON'T BUYS:&nbsp;</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In general, I'd say stay away from players slated to be free agents in 2016 (see link above). This is a group that includes <b>Bruce Irvin,&nbsp;Russell Okung, Brandon Mebane, Jermaine Kearse, Derrick Coleman, Jon Ryan</b>, and many others. Given his <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/2015/06/30/seattle-seahawks-michael-bennett-says-its-possible-he-holds-out-from-training-camp/">threats of a training camp holdout</a>, it's probably a good idea to stay away from a <b>Michael Bennett</b> jersey. I'd be hesitant to buy the jerseys of guys coming off serious injuries like <b>Jeremy Lane</b> and <b>Paul Richardson</b>, too. Rookies? I know that <b>Marcus Mariota</b> jerseys are <a href="http://www.nflshop.com/pages/Top_Selling_Jerseys">flying off the shelves</a>, but it's hard for me to get behind the idea of dropping a Benjamin on a <b>Tyler Lockett</b> or <b>Frank Clark</b> jersey.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>WORTH ROLLING THE HARD SIX:</b>&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Bobby Wagner</b> is set for free agency after this season, but the Seahawks <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/seahawks-mailbag-bobby-wagner-contract-brandon-mebanes-future-and-more/">seem pretty dead-set on retaining the Pro Bowl Linebacker</a>. I think he's a safe investment. Then there's <b>Russell Wilson.</b> Ugh.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I own a Wilson jersey, and he's my favorite player. So I'll grant that I'm not entirely unbiased here. Despite all the strum und drang, I have a hard time picturing him ever playing an NFL game in anything other than a Seahawks uniform. But here we are, on the eve of training camp without Wilson locked down for the next half-decade or so. I still think a deal will get done, but it might not be until after this season. That small but persistent uncertainty over his long-term future in Seattle makes it hard for me to unreservedly recommend his jersey this season. I'd put Wagner and Wilson at the bottom of my Top 10 Best Jersey Investments For 2015. Here's the top eight:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>8. Steven Hauschka</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">You read that right. I'm one of many Twelves who snapped up a jersey of The Traitor Josh Brown after the 2006 season, only to see him bolt for St. Louis in free agency. I've said before that I'd never buy another kicker's jersey. However, Haus is a much better placekicker than Brown ever was (despite The Traitor's flair for the dramatic). Hauschka has evolved into one of the NFL's most reliable kickers, and he's now under contract through the 2016 season. I also think I look better in single-digit jerseys, so Haus gets extra points thanks to that weird personal quirk.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>7. K.J. Wright</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Itching to buy a defensive players' jersey, but outside the Legion of Boom? With Wagner's contract status unsettled, K.J. Wright is your best bet. Not only is he a key contributor who got<a href="http://www.seahawks.com/news/2015/06/02/tuesday-round-seahawks-lb-kj-wright-earns-mention-nflcoms-all-underrated-team"> named to NFL.Com's "All-Underrated" team</a>- He's also under team control through the 2018 season.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>6. Doug Baldwin</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Still one of my favorite Seahawks (though his style seems to be wearing thin with some Twelves), and still the best wide receiver on the roster, 2014 was the most productive season of the former undrafted free agent's career. He's under contract through 2016, and should have another big year with Jimmy Graham drawing defenders away from him.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>5. Jimmy Graham</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I've been scorched over and over when I've bought the jersey of a big-name acquisition before they'd even played a down for Seattle (Deion Branch? Ugh), but Graham seems like the safest bet ever if you want to buy an incoming player's jersey. Simply put, Graham is one of the most reliable and dangerous offensive players in football, and probably a safe bet for a dozen (or more) touchdowns. He's under contract through 2017, and everyone looks cool wearing number 88.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>4. Marshawn Lynch</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Year after year, I've discouraged people from buying Beast Mode jerseys. His long-term presence in Seattle always seemed precarious, and it might still be- But let's be honest: Lynch is the best running back in Seahawks' history, and at the moment it's hard to argue against him as the best back in the entire NFL today. He's reached legendary status among Twelves, and now it's reasonable to snag his jersey not just for now, but to hold onto after he retires for his inevitable Ring of Honor ceremony. Side note: I say it's better than even odds that we'll see some sort of Fury Road-themed end zone celebration from Shawn this season. WITNESS! MARSHAWN IS AWAITED IN VALHALLA!&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>3. Kam Chancellor</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>2. Richard Sherman</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>1. Earl Thomas III&nbsp;</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's a virtual tie among the Hall-of-Fame-bound triumvirate that anchors the Legion of Boom, and in a larger sense the best defense in the NFL. Sherm and ETIII get a slight nod over Bam Bam Kam because they are under team control for an additional year (free agency in 2019 v 2018 for Chancellor). Thomas edges Sherman for the top spot simply because I think he's SLIGHTLY more important to Seattle's defensive dominance. If I am fortunate enough to snag a new jersey this summer, I'm probably going with the former Longhorn Thomas.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">What do you think, sirs? Did I leave anyone or anything out? Let me know in the comments! &nbsp;</div><br />http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/07/your-2015-seattle-seahawks-jersey.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-788004149246052286Mon, 04 May 2015 23:10:00 +00002015-05-04T18:23:51.227-05:0012 For Life/Columbus Til I Die<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-alRp_W1A1fc/VUfhsd_0NnI/AAAAAAAAC2w/LetHyM7qBw4/s1600/tumblr_nnugczmHnX1swvjkho1_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-alRp_W1A1fc/VUfhsd_0NnI/AAAAAAAAC2w/LetHyM7qBw4/s400/tumblr_nnugczmHnX1swvjkho1_540.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This Saturday, the Seattle Sounders will visit Ohio to battle Columbus Crew SC. I'm sure the vast majority of my readers will be rooting for the Rave Green. I'll be at the match, clad in Black and Gold (I know... Steelers colors! Horror!) and pulling for the Crew. Every year, when this match approaches, I get bombarded with variations on a single question: <i>Why aren't you a Sounders supporter?</i>&nbsp;I aim to answer that here, as well as dig a bit into the psychology of how fandom grows, puts down roots, and sometimes even dies.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/08/pain-from-old-wound.html">written extensively</a> about <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2011/01/abundance-of-feeling.html">the roots of my Seahawks fandom</a> before. The short version? I grew up in Eastern Washington, which was a hotbed of Twelvedom in the early 80s. I was a weird, bookish, sensitive kid, so when I expressed an interest in something "normal" like football, my family aggressively cultivated it. The magical 1983 season, which included my first trip to a Seahawks game at the Kingdome, <a href="http://www.fieldgulls.com/2010/6/7/1505367/talk-about-the-passion-my-1983">hooked me for good</a>. Watching the Hawks became a family activity in my house, and a lifelong attachment was born.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That attachment survived <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2011/06/forgotten-years-1992-1998.html">The Forgotten Years</a>&nbsp;of the 1990s for a complex melange of reasons. Even though the Seahawks veered between being god awful and merely mediocre, they were one of the few positive things I shared with my estranged father. From 1993 to 1999, I was in Bellingham getting my B.A. and then my M.A. at Western. I had such a blast during those years that a pile of Seahawks losses taller than Sehome Hill didn't sting quite as much as it would have otherwise. I also was then, as I am now, a contrarian at heart. As everyone around me donned Ken Griffey Jr. and Shawn Kemp jerseys in the mid-90s, I defiantly strode around campus in my Joey Galloway jersey, feeling like the only Twelve in Bellingham. I threw myself into the campaign to get funding for Seahawks Stadium approved, and when new owner Paul Allen started selling $10 tickets, I snapped up a pair of Season Tickets in the top row of the Kingdome South End Zone for $200 (tickets which I still have today, thanks to parental subsidies... though now they are $50 apiece/$1000 for the pair).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In <a href="http://www.fieldgulls.com/2010/3/25/1389015/i-am-jacks-broken-heart-my-1999">1999 I moved to Columbus for graduate school</a>, and my Seahawks fandom became even more central to my identity. I was the first and only Twelve most Ohioans had ever met, and even though <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2010/04/seriously-does-this-shit-happen-to-fans.html">I'd have some awkward moments</a>, I LOVED being an ambassador for the 12 Army in the Wilderness of Central Ohio. It made me feel special, but more importantly, as the years passed and my roots in Columbus deepened, 12ing represented the cultivation and renewal of my connection to my home state of Washington. Every time I would come home and go to a game, and join 66,000 other Twelves in collective hysteria, I felt reborn. After drifting away from shore, it was like the tide created by that massive Blue Wave brought me home.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But Columbus IS home for me now. I fought that idea for a long time, but since I met my partner and started my transition a few years ago here in the Arch City, I've accepted that barring some crazy unforeseen circumstance, I'm not going to move back to Washington State (though... Damn... I really miss Bellingham). Columbus is actually a pretty spectacular place to live. It's got a high quality of life, a relatively low cost of living, and it's <a href="http://www.autostraddle.com/queer-girl-city-guide-columbus-ohio-135104/">one of the most LGBT-friendly cities in the Midwest</a>. As I dug myself a happy little rut in Ohio's Capital, I realized that I needed sports teams to root for.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Buckeyes? Umm... No. Not only did I <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/01/college-football-sucks.html">not particularly like college footbal</a>l, but I found the culture surrounding Ohio State Football to be both oppressive and a bit frightening. That left the NHL's Blue Jackets and Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew. I embraced the Jackets first, because I grew up rooting for the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League, and I didn't have an existing NHL allegiance to betray (Nope, I never became a Canucks fan back in the old days). My support for the Crew came later, and only after a long evolution of my feelings about soccer as a sport. 20 years ago, I though soccer was a boring, foreign waste of time (Halfback passes back to center... Center holds it... holds it... HOLDS IT!).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Gradually, I started paying more attention to the World Cup every four years, and I'd catch the occasional Crew match (usually on Buck-a-Brat nights). In 2011, I went to my first Crew match in years with my partner and we had a rollicking good time. My deepening commitment to Columbus, combined with my rising interest in the world's most popular sport, as well as a shared experience with the woman I loved, ignited and fueled my Crew fandom. The Sounders? Bad timing, guys. Y'all didn't join MLS until 2008- Years after I moved away, but before soccer became my 2nd favorite sport after football. Plus, it irks me to no end when you call 40,000 people in a stadium that holds 67,000 a "sellout." The team I root for that plays in that stadium has sold EVERY seat in the place for EVERY game since September of 2003. Yeah, I respect Sounders supporters- Seattle fans are pretty consistently RABID when given any sort of Championship hopes- But you guys are always forgetting that <a href="http://www.si.com/soccer/planet-futbol/2013/09/10/columbus-home-of-us-soccer-team-mexico">Columbus is the capital of American soccer</a>. I know a TON of Sounders supporters, so this Saturday's match is a particularly big deal to me.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My Seahawks fandom is evergreen, but the Crew and Jackets serve two really important needs for me: They scratch my sports-fanaticism itch when the Hawks aren't playing, and they give me something that connects me to my new home without forcing me to root for Ohio State. I've explained how my sports fandom has grown and evolved... But how does it die? And why?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From 1986 to 2014, I was a huge Boston Red Sox fan. I even <a href="http://www.fieldgulls.com/2010/7/22/1582874/rooting-for-the-bad-guys">wrote a piece about my Sox fandom a few years back for Field Gulls</a>. I was devastated by Bill Buckner's gaffe and Aaron Boone's homer, and elated by hard-won championships in 2004, 2007 and 2013. Today, my allegiance to the Red Sox is on indefinite hiatus. Why? One reason is my waning interest in baseball as a sport. Rooting for the Crew only demands two hours of my time a week. The Seahawks? 3 or 4. A baseball team? 3-4 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. Just thinking about that has become exhausting for me.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The bigger reason? I find the idea of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a LOT of the same people who celebrated <a href="http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/49">one of the most painful moments of my life</a> NAUSEATING. I just can't stomach stuff like Tom Brady throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park right now... And I'm not sure if or when I'll feel good about rooting for a team from Boston again. I have deep emotional connections to the Pacific Northwest and Central Ohio that fuel my fire for those teams. For Boston teams? None of that for a city I've only visited twice in my life (though Massachusetts' Capital is indeed a lovely place to visit).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So fandom can die. Could anything kill my Seahawks fandom? If they ever moved away from Seattle, that would do it (Sidebar: If Ken Behring had succeeded in moving the team to L.A. in the mid-90s, I was all set to become a fan of the... Ugh... New England Patriots. I loved Drew Bledsoe, and I was already a Red Sox fan, so it made sense at the time). A long stretch of subpar play couldn't do the trick... What if the Seahawks started employing a gaggle of reprobates? I have to admit I find our drafting of Frank Clark distasteful (I'm not going to run out and buy the jersey of a <a href="http://seahawksdraftblog.com/frank-clark-and-his-likely-second-chance-in-the-nfl">suspected domestic abuser</a>, that's for sure), but it's not nearly enough to eat away at my bond to the franchise. At the moment, I'm just hoping that <a href="http://mynorthwest.com/422/2756747/Schneider-Seahawks-aposabsolutelyapos-believe-Clark-didnapost-hit-girlfriend?utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter">John Schneider is right about him</a>, and that he stays out of trouble from this point on.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What about everyone else? Do you just root for Seattle-area teams (or, all the local teams from where-ever you are)? If you don't, how did you get attached to teams you aren't geographically connected to? Let's hash it out in the comments!&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(Almost forgot... GLORY TO COLUMBUS!)</div><br />http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/05/12-for-lifecolumbus-til-i-die.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-7840443953810124547Thu, 30 Apr 2015 19:07:00 +00002015-05-01T08:08:47.120-05:00Almost Hawks: Brett Favre, Steve Young, Drew Bledsoe and the NFL Draft Crapshoot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-09Q8NktwmA8/VUJqH68j2TI/AAAAAAAAC2c/ynHmX3k3X0o/s1600/bledsoemirer_2mafyy59_49bza587.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-09Q8NktwmA8/VUJqH68j2TI/AAAAAAAAC2c/ynHmX3k3X0o/s1600/bledsoemirer_2mafyy59_49bza587.jpg"></a></div><br>It's widely expected that Florida State Quarterback Jameis Winston and Oregon Quarterback Marcus Mariota will go #1 and #2 in the first round of tonight's NFL Draft. If history is any indication, one of them will be a hugely successful NFL QB (A Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb or Andrew Luck), and the other will be a spectacular failure (A Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, or Robert Griffin III). In 1993 the Seahawks and Patriots held the top 2 picks in the draft, and both were in desperate need of a franchise quarterback. The Patriots would land a signal-caller who would only be surpassed in New England football annals by Tom Brady. The Hawks? The TL;DR version is that they drew the short straw. But you came here for the long version, didn't you?<br><br>The 1992 Seahawks were one of the worst teams to ever see a gridiron. There were bright spots in 1000-yard rusher Chris Warren, a surprisingly stout defense, and in the dominant performance of NFL Defensive Player of the Year Cortez Kennedy- But no team in the 16-game schedule era scored as few points as the '92 Hawks. Before the 1992 season, long-time Head Coach Chuck Knox was jettisoned because he refused to bench the still-serviceable Dave Krieg (this followed Knox being <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/16981/draft-room-tale-dan-mcgwire-or-brett-favre">overruled in the Seattle War Room on Draft Day 1991</a>: He wanted the Hawks to draft Brett Favre and groom him to take over for Krieg. The team went with noted Ent Dan McGwire instead). Hated ex-Raiders Coach Tom Flores took over, and a Cerberus of incompetent quarterbacking (McGwire, Kelly Stouffer, and Stan Gelbaugh) combined for this stat-line in 1992:<br><br><b>2323 yards, 9 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, 48.3 pass completion rate, and a 48.9 passer rating.</b><br><br>Only two years after spending a first-rounder on McGwire (while Favre was getting started on a Hall-of-Fame career in Green Bay), Seattle's most pressing need was at QB. Thanks to their putrid 2-14 campaign in '92, the Hawks held the 2nd pick in the 1993 NFL Draft. They picked after New England thanks to a 10-6 win over the Patriots in September of 1992, and that result would have massive consequences for both teams.<br><br>Washington State's Drew Bledsoe was touted as possibly the next Dan Marino. The kid out of Walla Walla (I grew up in the Tri-Cities, and I remember watching Bledsoe absolutely torch my Richland Bombers while I was a freshman at RHS in 1989) had three explosive seasons in the Palouse before declaring himself eligible for the '93 draft. Like most Twelves, I hoped that the homegrown Bledsoe would end up setting records in the Kingdome,<br><br>Notre Dame's Rick Mirer wore Joe Montana's #3 for the Fighting Irish, and Mirer was compared to the SF Hall-of-Famer ad nauseam leading up to the draft. Like Montana, Mirer was a mobile QB who was effective with his legs as well as his arm. In fact, San Francisco was so enamored with Mirer that <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-04-20/sports/9304200129_1_49ers-president-carmen-policy-49ers-organization-49ers-coach-george-seifert">they wanted to trade Steve Young to the Seahawks for the #2 pick in the 1993 draft</a>. The Niners' plan was to keep Montana to groom Mirer, but Montana was already dead-set on moving on from San Francisco after perceived slights from the front office during the 1992 season- So Young stayed in the Bay Area, Montana was traded to Kansas City, and the Seahawks kept that draft pick.<br><br>New England took Bledsoe #1, and Seattle snapped up Mirer with the subsequent pick. I remember quickly moving from disappointment to optimism- Sure, it would have been nice to see Bledsoe in Seahawks blue, but Mirer was going to be just a great... Maybe even better, right?<br><br>Early on, it looked like Seattle might have snagged the better quarterback. In a week 3 contest at Foxboro, Mirer outplayed Bledsoe and the Hawks ground out a 17-14 win. In late October the teams would play again at the Kingdome, but Bledsoe would miss the rematch with an injury. The Seahawks trailed 9-3 late in the 4th quarter, but Mirer led the Hawks to the winning TD with only seconds left. The dramatic win got Seattle to 4-3, already doubling their win total from the previous season. The Patriots fell to 1-6, and the whispers they might have taken the wrong quarterback began.<br><br>The Hawks would crater with a 2-7 stretch to finish 1993 at 6-10, but Mirer would be named AP AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year. 1993 would end up as his Seattle peak. He never built upon the potential he flashed in his rookie season, but the Hawks would somehow convince the Bears to give up a 1st-round pick for him in February 1997 (allowing Seattle to take both Shawn Springs and Walter Jones in the 1997 Draft).<br><br>By 1996, Bledsoe was established as an elite NFL quarterback. He'd lead the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI and go on to set franchise passing records that would stand until Tom Brady rolled into town.<br><br>It's bracing to reflect on how close we came to seeing Brett Favre, Steve Young or Drew Bledsoe in a Seahawks uniform. How different is franchise history if Knox won the War Room argument? If Montana stayed in SF? If we had lost at Foxboro in '92?<br><br>Since we're already speculating wildly: Who's more likely to become a Bledsoe or a Mirer? Mariota or Winston? Will a blockbuster trade like the one we didn't see in '93 go down tonight?<br><br>What do you think, sirs?http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/04/almost-hawks-brett-favre-steve-young.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-2083814642751244847Thu, 23 Apr 2015 14:24:00 +00002015-04-23T09:31:50.007-05:00OFF TOPIC: Interview with Vox I participated in an "oral history" piece about transgender folks over on Vox. Read it all, but the "Ramona P." stuff is me.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.vox.com/a/transgender-stories">Check it out here</a>&nbsp;and <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/4/22/8461743/transgender-spouses">here</a>, and let me know what you think.http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/04/off-topic-interview-with-vox.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-5338829252082292129Wed, 22 Apr 2015 20:37:00 +00002015-04-22T15:55:54.220-05:00The Seahawks All-Time/All-Drafted Team (2015)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LecIn6gVXgY/VTfwSuLNWEI/AAAAAAAAC1A/DGaRPz-RHWc/s1600/AllTimeAllDrafted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LecIn6gVXgY/VTfwSuLNWEI/AAAAAAAAC1A/DGaRPz-RHWc/s1600/AllTimeAllDrafted.jpg" height="400" width="367" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'll be blunt and admit that I know next to nothing about who the Seahawks should draft next week. If you're itching for actual knowledge and insight about that, you should amble over to <a href="http://seahawksdraftblog.com/">Seahawks Draft Blog</a> for a bit before coming back over here... I don't really pay any significant attention to college football, and my preferences have been proven dead wrong WAY too many times in the past for me to trust my own prospective judgments about the NFL draft. I've been<a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-post.html"> ecstatic about us drafting duds like Aaron Curry</a>, a bit puzzled by picks like Russell Wilson, and disappointed by our selection of future Hall-of-Famers like Earl Thomas. Like the Sea Captain on The Simpsons, sometimes I am just left muttering <i>"Yarr... I don't know what I'm doing."</i>&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thankfully, judging the performance of our front office in the draft retrospectively is much easier. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/revisited-seahawks-all-time-all-drafted.html">A few years back</a> I posted an "All-Time/All-Drafted" Seahawks team. Six years later, a reboot is LONG past due... First, the rules:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>A) players must have been <b>drafted</b> by the Seahawks (no undrafted players like Doug Baldwin or Dave Krieg)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>B) players must have made a significant contribution with Seattle (no Ahman Greens, for example).</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>OFFENSE</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Quarterback: Russell Wilson</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">You know who was the best quarterback drafted by the Seahawks before 2012? Seneca Wallace. Jim Zorn, Dave Krieg and Matt Hasselbeck were all acquired via means other than the draft. Yes, Wilson has only been the league for 3 years, but he's already not just the best quarterback the Seahawks have ever drafted- He's the best QB we've ever had, period. Easiest decision on this list.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Running Back: Shaun Alexander; Fullback: John L. Williams</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Curt Warner and Chris Warren had stellar runs in Seattle, but no other RB the Hawks have ever drafted comes close 2005 NFL MVP Alexander's resume. He's the all-time franchise leader in rushing yards and touchdowns scored and is a sure bet for a spot in the Seahawks Ring of Honor. 1986 first-round pick John L. Williams deserves a to have his name splayed across the Seahawks Stadium upper deck, too. Only Steve Largent and Brian Blades caught more passes for Seattle than the multi-talented fullback, and Williams stacked up nearly 8700 total yards from scrimmage as the Ground Chuck Era bled into The Forgotten Years.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Wide Receivers: Brian Blades and Darrell Jackson</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">While it was tempting to try to slip Joey Galloway or Golden Tate into one of these slots, Blades and Jackson hold the #2 and #3 spots on the franchise's all-time receiving leaderboard. For all the grief D-Jack got over his bouts of the dropsies, only Largent has caught more TDs for Seattle than Jackson. He's still probably the best player in franchise history to <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/08/pretty-goods-top-5-seahawks-who-never.html">never play in a Pro Bowl</a>. &nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Offensive Line: Walter Jones, Steve Hutchinson, Max Unger, J.R. Sweezy, Russell Okung</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Jones and Hutchinson are the only offensive linemen in Seahawks history to be named All-Pro multiple times, so they were the easy picks here for one side of the line. I give Unger the nod over Kevin Mawai because the vast majority (and all of the Pro Bowls) of Mawai's storied career happened after he left Seattle. Sweezy gets the guard spot across from Hutch over Pete Kendall, and I cheated a little bit by sliding Okung over to right tackle opposite Big Walt.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Tight End: John Carlson</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">How bad were the Seahawks back in 2008 and 2009? Carlson was the team MVP both seasons. When you look at how slim the pickings were at tight end through our team's history, current Cardinal Carlson is still the obvious choice.&nbsp;</div><br /><b>DEFENSE</b><br /><i>Defensive line: Jacob Green, Cortez Kennedy, Brandon Mebane, Michael Sinclair</i><br />Cantonite Tez anchors this formidable theoretical d-line, and end rushers Green and Sinclair combined for a whopping 171 sacks wearing blue and green. Bane gets the other tackle spot, nudging aside Red Bryant and Rocky Bernard. <br /><br /><i>Linebackers: Bobby Wagner, Lofa Tatupu, K.J. Wright&nbsp;</i><br />Wags and Wright are the cornerstones of the current Seattle linebacking corps, while Tatupu anchored the middle of Seahawks' defense through the playoff runs of the late-Holmgren era.<br /><br /><i>Defensive Backs: Richard Sherman, Kenny Easley, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor</i><br />Yes, I know I have three safeties and just one corner here. But would you rather have Shawn Springs/Marcus Trufant on the field over ANY one of Easley/ET/Bam-Bam Kam? Let them murder the enemy WRs and Sherm can cover whomever happens to survive.<br /><br /><b>SPECIALISTS</b><br />The Traitor <i>Josh Brown</i> is still the best placekicker the Seahawks have ever drafted, and <i>Ruben Rodriguez</i> gets punting duties basically by default. <i>Charlie Rogers</i> and <i>Bobbie Joe Edmonds</i> were the most versatile/effective kick/punt returners Seattle's ever seen, and <i>Fredd Young</i> had absolute murder in his heart covering kicks for the Hawks in the mid-80s.<br /><br />What do you think, sirs? Any glaring omissions? Let's hash it out in the comments!http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-seahawks-all-timeall-drafted-team.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-356123954104567465Wed, 15 Apr 2015 21:25:00 +00002015-04-15T16:25:31.075-05:00"I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy." (My 2006 Seattle Seahawks Story)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vdyU3vGZwP4/VS6zlqyMvmI/AAAAAAAACzM/Jkbawk1mTvE/s1600/bigplaybabs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vdyU3vGZwP4/VS6zlqyMvmI/AAAAAAAACzM/Jkbawk1mTvE/s1600/bigplaybabs.jpg" height="400" width="388" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the spring of 2006, the Seahawks were coming off a harrowing defeat in Super Bowl XL and I was going through some major life changes. My son was born that April, and I was getting ready to leave Columbus for a 1-year teaching gig in rural Ohio. Even though Seattle fell two wins shy of a Super Bowl return trip, the 2006 team is one of my favorite squads the franchise has ever fielded. They are somewhat unfairly remembered as simply capitalizing on one of the most gargantuan mistakes in post-season history- But to me they were absolutely heroic. No team in franchise history delivered as many thrilling finishes as the '06ers, and they came much closer to a 2nd consecutive NFC Championship than most remember. Beyond that, they were one of the few handholds I had for hanging onto some sort of sanity through a sleep-deprived year in the Wilderness of Northeast Ohio.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The offseason began with the Steve Hutchinson debacle, and when the Vikings' front office expertly outmaneuvered Tim Ruskell, Seattle was left with a gaping hole in their offensive line. The Hawks retaliated against Minnesota by using a similar clause in a contract offer to WR Nate Burleson, but the damage was done. The unit that cleared the way for Shaun Alexander's MVP performance of 2005 was irrevocably weakened. On defense, the major offseason acquisition was former All-Pro linebacker Julian Peterson. Expectations were dizzying as the Hawks started the campaign where the 2005 season died: At Ford Field in Detroit. The game itself was a snoozeworthy 9-6 affair, but it ended with a Josh Brown game-winning field goal as time expired, and I celebrated our 1-0 start with humility and dignity (not really):&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PbhxzPsA_Fw/VS69U5DrbzI/AAAAAAAACzc/r2KcjpKMIfI/s1600/240914038_8e8647f20b_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PbhxzPsA_Fw/VS69U5DrbzI/AAAAAAAACzc/r2KcjpKMIfI/s1600/240914038_8e8647f20b_o.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next week, Seattle would trade their 2007 first-round pick for former Super Bowl MVP wideout Deion Branch (No, PCJS didn't invent the Seattle tradition of trading 1st-rounders for what they hoped were game-changing receivers). They'd grind out a win over Arizona and hang on to beat the Giants after building a 35-3 lead to reach 3-0 going into a Sunday Night Football showdown at Soldier Field against Chicago. The 37-6 carpet-bombing the Seahawks absorbed seemed to confirm that they were no match for the Bears in the race for the NFC crown. The Hawks limped into the bye with a huge test looming in St. Louis against the still detestable Rams.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That year my son, my ex-wife and I were exiled to a part of Ohio so remote that the nearest Target was a 30-minute drive away. How rustic was the setting? There were parking spaces for Amish horse-drawn buggies at the local Wal-Mart. On top of the standard travails of raising any newborn, my son had a serious medical condition: <a href="http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/hirschsprung-disease?_vsrefdom=colorectal&amp;gclid=CNnnj76J-cQCFYEkgQod2qkAuw">Hirschsprung Disease</a>. His life was in danger during the first few weeks of his life, but thankfully the doctors at Nationwide Children's Hospital were able to figure out what was going on and perform corrective surgery before it was too late. In October, he endured a 2nd procedure, on top of my early efforts to indoctrinate him:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ccjviFEFtK8/VS7BR3yjlCI/AAAAAAAACzo/jVKgf7FPSe8/s1600/240914386_80c633bf58_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ccjviFEFtK8/VS7BR3yjlCI/AAAAAAAACzo/jVKgf7FPSe8/s1600/240914386_80c633bf58_o.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The mixture of caring for a child with major health issues and having to leave Columbus for a year took a toll on my ex-wife and I. It was also around this time that it was dawning on me that I was transgender, and that I would need to figure out how to address that realization. For me, the three hours I spent watching the Seahawks each week took on an added significance. I would forget everything else swirling around in my life and just lose myself in Twelvedom (though I did it quietly if the baby was sleeping).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next in a procession of heart-stopping wins came on the road in St. Louis. The Hawks fought back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to take a late 27-21 lead. After a Mo Morris fumble deep in STL territory, Torry Holt made a ridiculous 80-yard TD catch that looked like the death blow. Down by a point, Matt Hasselbeck coolly marched the Hawks into Rams territory. An illegal procedure flag was misinterpreted by St. Louis Coach Scott Linehan as a foul that included a 10-second, game-ending clock runoff. That jabbering ninny was wrong, and jogged off the field slack-jawed after Josh Brown nailed the 54-yard game winner at the final gun to steal a 30-28 victory.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The season took a dark turn a week later against Minnesota, though. It was bad enough that the defense utterly collapsed and made Chester Taylor look like some mutant hybrid of Chuck Foreman and Robert Smith. I also had the misfortune of watching the game with one of the most downbeat and negative Twelves I've ever known. When E,J. Henderson dived at Matt Hasselbeck's knees and knocked him out of action for a month, that Eeyore literally said <i>"Oh, well. Season's over."</i> Needless to say, I didn't invite him over again after that.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The season was far from over. Seneca Wallace managed the Hawks to a 2-2 record as Hasselbeck recuperated, with the most notable moment being a thrilling 24-22 win over the Rams at Seahawks Stadium. Nate Burleson jolted the Seahawks to life with an 90-yard punt return TD in the 4th quarter, but it still took a 2-minute drill led by Wallace to set up ANOTHER Brown game-winner as the clock hit triple-zero. I was there, and yes, I owned a Deion Branch jersey:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i1uq0b8AQPU/VS7GZQmlOkI/AAAAAAAACz4/C8-zxLOxmBk/s1600/296364513_5aea5e0e42_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i1uq0b8AQPU/VS7GZQmlOkI/AAAAAAAACz4/C8-zxLOxmBk/s1600/296364513_5aea5e0e42_o.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When Hasselbeck returned, he'd lead Seattle to a key MNF win in the Seahawks Stadium snowglobe against Green Bay. A week later on Sunday Night Football in Denver, Josh Brown won his FOURTH game of the season on a kick in final seconds. The Hawks were 8-4 and still had a decent shot at winning the top seed in the NFC. Instead, the tailspin began. They fell to the Matt Leinart-led 3-9 Cardinals. They got blown out at home on Thursday Night Football in a driving rainstorm by the 5-8 49ers. In those two games, the Hawks were favored to win by a combined 14 points. They played so badly that a close loss to playoff-bound San Diego the next week was treated more like a victory (it also helped that Seattle backed into winning the NFC West that day, too).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Seattle would end the season with a win at Tampa to scratch their way to 9-7, but along the way they absorbed multiple injuries on defense. They would face Bill Parcells and his Dallas Cowboys with a secondary so depleted they were picking guys off the street and telling them to cover Terrell Owens. No one outside the Twelve Army gave the boys in gun-metal blue much of a chance to beat Dallas in the NFC Wild Card Game.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was at that game, and I witnessed an instant classic alongside 66,000 of my closest friends. Former loan officer Pete Hunter somehow helped hold T.O. to 2 catches for 26 yards and Seattle trailed by only 7 midway through the 4th quarter. When the Hawks failed on 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line, the guy in front of me moaned that the game was over, and I snapped. I screamed <b>"DAMN IT! It's not over!"</b> Kelly Jennings proved me right on the following play, causing a Terry Glenn fumble that ended up out of the end zone for a safety. With 4 minutes left, Hasselbeck found Jerramy Stevens for the go-ahead score.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dallas would race deep into Seattle territory and into position to kick the game-winning field goal. A savvy timeout by Mike Holmgren jolted the replay official into overturning a catch that would have given Dallas a first down and allowed them to run out the clock before trying the winning kick. On the replayed down Seattle stopped the Cowboys a yard short, setting up one of the craziest sequences in NFL playoff history.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yes, everyone remembers Tony Romo dropping the snap, but that handsome fellow picked the ball up and looked like he had a clear path for the go-ahead TD (Or worse, a first-down that would let Dallas run out ALL of the time left before trying another field goal). Just like he did against Dallas a year earlier (to set up- you guessed it- a Josh Brown game-winner), Jordan Babineaux lived up to his "Big Play Babs" moniker. He chased Romo down and tackled him INCHES from a game-ending first down. Seahawks Stadium roared with ecstasy and relief.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A couple of other things to remember: Even if Dallas had converted that FG attempt, the Seahawks would have had over a minute to get into range for yet another game-winner off Brown's foot. After the Seahawks got the ball back, Dallas still had timeouts remaining. If they had held Seattle to a 3-and-out, they would have gotten the ball back in good field position with time to get back into field goal range. Seattle's victory wasn't sealed until Shaun Alexander tore off a 22-yarder to eat up almost all of the time remaining.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was left thinking about that line from Martin Scorsese's The Departed:&nbsp;<i>"I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy." </i>That day, the Seahawks did their jobs, and the Cowboys were the other guys.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Seattle went into Chicago as huge underdogs in the NFC Divisional Playoff, but came achingly close to a stunning upset that would have sent them to New Orleans for the conference championship game. Shaun Alexander had the last great game of his career, rushing for 108 yards and two touchdowns. The last TD gave Seattle a 24-21 lead that it held deep into the 4th quarter, only to see Rex Grossman sling the Bears into range for the tying field goal with 4 minutes left. Despite his solid overall performance, Alexander failed on 3rd AND 4th-and-1 on the edge of Josh Brown's range just before the 2-minute warning. Seattle would get tantalizingly close to Brown's range again, only to see Hasselbeck take a sack and then be forced to let the clock run out. In the biggest moments of the season, Hutchinson's absence was acutely felt. Overtime.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Seattle won the coin toss, but perhaps chastened by Alexander's earlier failure they threw the ball deep on 3rd and 2. Incomplete. Ryan Plackemeier's 18-yard punt gave Chicago great field position, and a Grossman beat Ken Hamlin deep on 3rd and 10 to set up Robbie Gould's winning boot.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Hawks outplayed the eventual NFC Champions, only to squander a chance to return to the Super Bowl. I am still convinced that if Seattle had gotten the job done that day at Soldier Field, they would have beaten the Saints the following week and given Indianapolis all they could have handled in XLI. Sigh.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Despite the sour ending, the 2006 Seahawks carved out a special place in franchise lore. They were an over-achieving bunch that gave us a disproportionate number of spectacular high definition memories. Over and over, they were declared to be defeated and hopeless, but ended up getting further than almost anyone anticipated they could. In a mentally grueling stretch of my life, they gave me five months of (mostly) joyous distraction. It was the kind of season that reminded me why I'm a Twelve.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What are your memories of the 2006 Seahawks? What did I miss? Let's keep this going in the comments!</div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/04/im-guy-who-does-his-job-you-must-be.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-2446600819151022504Wed, 08 Apr 2015 01:58:00 +00002015-04-07T20:58:28.337-05:00Syndication! Hey guys! I just agreed to a syndication deal with the Seattle P-I website. Nothing will change here. I'll simply be porting PG versions of my posts on this page over there. Anything I post over there that isn't on this page? I'll link to it.... Like <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/davekriegsstrikebeard/2015/04/07/welcomefaq/">this</a>.<br /><br />This is still home. The P-I thing is my flat in the city.<br /><br />What do you think, sirs?http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/04/syndication.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-6827852657185593904Thu, 02 Apr 2015 20:57:00 +00002015-04-08T15:17:51.029-05:00The 10 Most Traumatic Plays in Seahawks History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J3JgIIAQBrc/VR2XlFnnMCI/AAAAAAAACyM/2-nlkMAJfyk/s1600/BobbyEngramDroppedPass1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J3JgIIAQBrc/VR2XlFnnMCI/AAAAAAAACyM/2-nlkMAJfyk/s1600/BobbyEngramDroppedPass1.jpg" height="310" width="400" /></a></div><br />On Saturday I turn 40, which has put me in a reflective mood. Unfortunately, early April is also when I think about the death of Kurt Cobain, which makes me both reflective and depressed.<br /><br /><i>SIDEBAR: I was a freshman at Western in 1993-1994. I was already a Nirvana fan, but "In Utero" came out in the Fall of 1993 and became the oddly specific soundtrack of an intense friendship that curdled into obsession for me and then spectacularly, devastatingly disintegrated. Years later, when <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv96yJYhk3M">"You Know You're Right"</a> was finally released, it seemed to be EXACTLY describing my headspace in the Spring of 1994. I'll never forget the day news broke of Kurt's death- I remember walking through the courtyard at the Fairhaven dorms, with people leaning out their windows wailing in rage and despair. Cobain wasn't just an incredibly talented musician- He was also someone who was a devoted <a href="http://mic.com/articles/106468/this-kurt-cobain-quote-is-more-relevant-today-than-ever-before">feminist and anti-racist</a>, and had very progressive views on gender identity for the late 80s/early 90s. So yeah... About this time every year a wave of sadness tends to wash over me.</i><br /><br />Why not use it to be productive, then? Here's my list of the ten most traumatic SINGLE PLAYS in Seahawks history. I'm sure #1 will surprise no one, but let's take a stroll through the darkest passages of the Twelve Hive Mind anyway...<br /><br /><b>10. John Elway: Seattle Soul Eater</b><br />This one gets a spot on the list for its personal significance...<br /><br />That friend I got obsessed with a couple paragraphs above? Well, I was going to take her to this Seahawks/Broncos dust-up in November 1993. At the very last minute, she told me that not only was she not going to the game with me, but that she would get a ride back to Bellingham with her new boyfriend.<br /><br /><i>SIDEBAR: With the benefit of maturity and hindsight, I know that I was a total shitheel about that whole situation. Thankfully her and I fleeced everything out a few years ago.&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i>I wish I could tell you that I took the news with grim stoicism and class. Nope. I had a panic attack and by the time I got my shit together, it was 9 am and I had to hustle to make it to the game by kickoff. For the first time, I'd be going to a game solo.<br /><br />I hit Seattle about 12:30, and drove right into the gaping maw of pre-game traffic, which I usually missed by being ridiculously early. So I found myself sitting on the ramp off I-90, within sight of the Dome, gridlocked. I didn't get into the stadium until a few minutes into the first quarter, but there was no score yet.<br /><br />I got to my seat in the 300 level, just in time to see the pivotal play of the game, and of Seattle's season. I hadn't even sat down yet... It was 3rd and long for Denver from midfield. 65,000 twelves combined to make a deafening roar, and it looked like Antonio Edwards was going to force a 3-and-out or a turnover with a vicious blindside hit on Mr. Ed...<br /><br />Somehow, Elway pulled a Ben Kenobi, sensed his impending doom, ducked under Edwards and fired a perfect 50-yard TD strike to Shannon Sharpe. 7-0 Denver, but it felt like 70-0.<br /><br />The Hawks would get it together, sacking Elway 4 times (including once for a safety) and picking him once, but once Rod Bernstine punched it in late in the 4th to make it 17-9 the game and Seattle's season was over (nope, no two-point conversions in the NFL until 1994, boys and girls).<br /><br />The Seahawks would finish with a 1-4 Death March towards a disappointing 6-10 finish (yes, much better than 2-14 in 1992, but still a gut punch after a 5-5 start), while Denver once again made the playoffs. When you couple that play with what was going on in my personal life, that play is still one of my most unpleasant memories as a Seahawks fan.<br /><br /><b>9. Mike Harden's Dirty Hit on Steve Largent&nbsp;</b><br /><b>8. Curt Warner's Knee Injury in 1984 opener&nbsp;</b><br />Steve Largent's REVENGE upon Mike Harden is rightfully legendary...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KKHKtkct5Hw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KKHKtkct5Hw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br />But back in week 1, Harden obliterated #80 with a late and dirty forearm that broke Largent's facemask and a handful of his milk-strengthened teeth as well. I honestly thought our best player might have just been killed on the field. It felt like Ivan Drago murdering Apollo Creed. It was awful.<br /><br />Back in 1984, the Seahawks began the season with stratospheric expectations after reaching the AFC Championship Game the previous year. Rookie running back Curt Warner was a proto-Barry Sanders in his initial NFL campaign, and seemed set on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory. On Kickoff Weekend, Warner took a toss on a sweep near Cleveland's goal line. Without being touched, he collapsed in a heap. His ACL was shredded. Yes, the Hawks would have a great season anyway, going 12-4 and winning a playoff game. Yes, Warner would come back in 1985 and have multiple 1000-yard seasons and Pro Bowl appearances. But that injury robbed him (and the Seahawks) of quite a few triumphant moments.<br /><br /><b>7. Shawn McDonald's OT TD to Finish Off Epic Seattle Collapse&nbsp;</b><br /><b>6. Bobby Engram's Dropped TD in 2004 NFC Wild Card Game</b><br />Two from the unspeakably gruesome 2004 season!<br /><br />First, the biggest 4th-quarter collapse in franchise history: For 54 minutes, the Seahawks dominated the defending NFC West Champion Rams. They led 27-10. Shaun Alexander shredded the St. Louis defense for 150 yards and the defense forced three Marc Bulger interceptions. Then, it was like a switch got flipped- Seattle's offense became a 3-and-out machine, and the defense absolutely could not stop St. Louis' air attack. 27-10 became 27-17, 27-24 and then 27-27 before millions of stunned Twelves could comprehend what was happening. In overtime, Shaun McDonald hauled in a 52-yard Bulger TD and the implosion was complete. Even though I was a 29-year-old semi-adult, I collapsed into a sobbing heap after that play.<br /><br />Just over two months later, Seattle would meet the Rams in the NFC Wild Card Game. The Hawks came out oddly flat and fell behind 14-3. Shaun Alexander disappeared, only scratching out 40 yards on the ground, but Hasselbeck and Jackson were magnificent- Matthew scorched the Rams for 341 yards passing, 128 of which were snagged by D-Jack. Once again, the Seahawks would fight back and lead 20-17 in the final quarter. Once again, the defense would squander that lead. Hasselbeck, Jackson and the rest of the Seahawks sprinted downfield on a desperate final drive, trailing 27-20. They'd reach the St. Louis 5-yard-line before stalling. 4th Down. Hasselbeck would avoid pressure and chuck a little sidearm toss at Bobby Engram. It wasn't the easiest catch to make, but it was one you have to make in the playoffs.<br /><br />Engram didn't. Game over. Season over.<br /><br /><b>5. Fredd Young's OT interception waved off in Wild Card loss at Houston</b><br />In the 1987 AFC Wild Card game, the Hawks were severely outplayed for about 58 minutes. After a missed Houston FG gave the Hawks the ball down by seven in the waning moments, Dave Krieg led an amazing TD drive that included a 4th and 10 conversion BY INCHES on a diving Steve Largent snag, a long bomb to Ray Butler and the tying score on a lazer-beam strike to Largent. This was probably the single greatest performance of #80's career: 7 catches for 132 yards and both Seattle touchdowns. Largent had more impressive statistical performances, but none on a bigger stage, and none with the team's main offensive weapon (Curt Warner) sidelined with an injury.<br /><br />In overtime, All-Pro linebacker Fredd Young picked off a deflected Warren Moon pass deep in Oilers territory. Unfortunately, the INT was waved off and declared incomplete despite clear visual evidence that the ball never touched the astroturf. There was no Instant Replay in 1987, and this would just be start of a long and traumatic relationship between the Seattle Seahawks NFL officiating incompetence. On the next Seattle possession, Krieg would throw a pick, setting up the Oilers in our territory. Tony Zendejas wouldn't miss again, and I retreated to my room to cry out the cruel end of a promising season.<br /><br /><b>4. Vinny Testaverde's Phantom Touchdown</b><br />The 1998 Seahawks were 6-6 and fighting not only for their playoff lives, but to keep Coach Dennis Erickson employed. They played their best game of the year, on the road, at 10 am Seattle time, and against the playoff-bound Jets. All they had to do to hold on to a 31-26 season-defining, coach-saving victory was to stop the Jets on 4th and goal... and they did.<br /><br />Until uber-dipshit official Phil Luckett signaled touchdown. Later, he would say that he thought that Testaverde's helmet was the ball. I was so incensed that I broke numerous items in my tiny Bellingham apartment. Seattle would limp to 8-8, and Dennis Erickson would get canned.<br /><br />Two very important things happened because of this game. The NFL brought back Instant Replay, and Paul Allen hired Mike Holmgren to run and coach the Seahawks. In the end, it all worked out- But I'll never forget the rage and hopelessness I felt that day.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8d_8XKHJiLY/VR2kMpyyc6I/AAAAAAAACyc/10MNMIFBA-0/s1600/testaverdex-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8d_8XKHJiLY/VR2kMpyyc6I/AAAAAAAACyc/10MNMIFBA-0/s1600/testaverdex-large.jpg" height="275" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nope.</span></div><br /><b>3. "We Want The Ball And We're Gonna Score."</b><br />When Matt Hasselbeck uttered those fateful words after Seattle won the coin toss to start overtime of the 2003 NFC Wild Card Game against Green Bay, I honestly thought "Cool! That's our Hass! Bad ass!"<br /><br />After his pass intended for Alex Bannister was intercepted by Al Harris and returned for a season-murdering score, Beck's boast won immortal infamy. Oh well... We kinda <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/01/seahawks-28-packers-22-ot.html">returned the favor last January</a>.<br /><br />Squarsies, Cheeseheads?<br /><br /><br /><b>2. Ticky-Tack Holing Call on Sean Locklear in Super Bowl XL derails Seattle Comeback&nbsp;</b><br />As the 4th quarter of Super Bowl XL began, the Seahawks only trailed 14-10. Despite playing in a unprecedentedly hostile environment for a Super Bowl and being hamstrung by incompetent, frightened, and intimidated officiating, Seattle was in the midst of what seemed destined to be a 98-yard go-ahead touchdown drive. Matt Hasselbeck delivered a strike to Jerramy Stevens to set up the Hawks on Pittsburgh's 1-yard line. Surely NFL MVP Shaun Alexander would punch it in on the next play and Seattle would pull away for the franchise's first Championship. Mike Holmgren would become the first coach to win Super Bowls with two different franchises. Matt Hasselbeck would instantly be considered an "elite" quarterback. Everything would change, forever.<br /><br />Then you noticed the flag.<br /><br />Sean Locklear got flagged for holding. Was it technically holding? Maybe. Would it have been called against the Steelers that day? No fucking way. On the next play Hasselbeck threw a crushing interception, and Pittsburgh exploited their advantage with the officials and the limitations of Etric Pruitt to win their fifth Lombardi Trophy.<br /><br />Bastards.<br /><br /><b>1. Malcom Butler's Interception in Super Bowl XLIX</b><br />Ugh. I really didn't want to watch this again. I don't really want to THINK about it ever again. Here's what I said strolling through the debris field of our collective shattered minds two months ago:<br /><br /><i>On Sunday night and into Monday, I was shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone enraged that Carroll didn't just give it to Shawn at the 1-yard-line. I'm glad I waited to write about the game until now, though. For one thing, I didn't fall into the trap of espousing dipshit conspiracy theories about the play call (Sidebar: If there was a conspiracy to get Wilson the MVP instead of Lynch, why was Shawn's number called on first down?). Beyond that, upon reflection, calling a pass on 2nd down in that situation made a LOT of sense.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>It's natural to become obsessed with that fateful play. We were one yard away from winning back-to-back Super Bowls. We were one yard away from football immortality. What if Bevell had called a fade to Matthews to the back corner? What if Russell had pulled it down and just walked into the end zone? What if Lockette had fought a little harder for the ball? What if it was an ever-so-slightly more accurate pass? It's so easy to tumble into that bottomless rabbit hole.&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i>I did. I'm still kinda there. Aren't you, too? The Jimmy Graham trade helped, and my mental state will improve greatly once the games start again in September. However, we all know the only cure for this malady will be another Super Bowl victory. Even then, it will be incredibly hard to avoid the nagging notion that we were ONE YARD AWAY from back-to-back World Championships.<br /><br />Two out of three won't be bad, though... :)<br /><br />What do you think, sirs? Any big omissions on my part?http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-10-most-traumatic-plays-in-seahawks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-1796968994210195005Thu, 05 Feb 2015 22:04:00 +00002015-02-05T16:17:07.256-06:00Ranking The Squads: #2 (2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xmt9kfhqjO4/VNPGGJYjdKI/AAAAAAAACvY/LoyvgQOmOeg/s1600/dm_140904_nfl_seahawks_packers_highlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xmt9kfhqjO4/VNPGGJYjdKI/AAAAAAAACvY/LoyvgQOmOeg/s1600/dm_140904_nfl_seahawks_packers_highlight.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>2. <a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sea/2014.htm">2014</a><br />Record: 12-4<br />Offensive Rank: 10th out of 32 teams<br />Defensive Rank: 1st out of 32<br />Turnover Ratio Rank: 4th out of 32<br />Team MVP: Marshawn Lynch<br />High Point: <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/01/seahawks-28-packers-22-ot.html">Seahawks 28, Packers 22 (OT)</a><br />Low Point: <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/10/rams-28-seahawks-26.html">Rams 28, Seahawks 26</a><br /><br />So another season is in the books. I'm sitting here listening to Death Cab for Cutie and feeling like I'm resting where disappointment and regret collide. However, I've taken two big lessons away from the process of <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2013/06/off-topic-yup-im-trans.html">transitioning</a> from a <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2008/07/holy-crap-i-love-this-shirt.html">Miserable Depressed Hobo</a> to a <a href="http://moderngirlarchcity.blogspot.com/">Relatively Content Woman</a>: Regret is Corrosive and Concentrate on How Far You've Come, NOT How Far You Have Left to Go.<br /><br />It's SO easy focus on regret if you are trans. For me, I could wallow in regret about waiting until I was in my late 30s to transition, or about how I hurt people I cared about while I was still figuring myself out, or about fifty other supremely obvious things. I could lose myself in wondering about how different my life would be if I had transitioned 20 years ago. Sure would have been great to have been a woman back in your early 20s... Right, Ramona?<br /><br />What would that do for me, though? How would it help? It wouldn't make my life any better or easier, or make my future any brighter. It would just be an anchor. Dead weight. Beyond that, everything that happened made me the person I am today. I like myself. The path I took led me to having the two best children ever and meeting the love of my life. I wouldn't change a god damn thing. I don't need Regret burning an ulcer into my soul.<br /><br />The other counterproductive thought process I've overcome is fixation on the things I still want to change about myself. Things from wishing I had the money to get the last remaining bits of beard shadow permanently zapped off my face, to wanting to lose 20 more pounds, to not being entirely satisfied with my hair or my voice, and on and on and on. What I SHOULD focus on is how far I've come over the last five years. Back then, I had absolutely no hope for the future. I was sleeping on a basement couch five feet from a litter box while being squeezed to death by the twin pythons of depression and anxiety. Today, I've never been happier. My life is imperfect, but it's also bursting with joy and wonder.<br /><br />Since Sunday, I've been fairly zombified outside of random crying jags. I know to many Twelves XLIX is the most devastating defeat in franchise history. I'd still rank it behind <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/01/xl-what-we-really-think.html">XL</a>, because today I'm sad but not left tortured by an overwhelming feeling of injustice... Plus, we <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/02/seahawks-43-broncos-8.html">put a Lombardi in our trophy case just one year ago</a>. <br /><br />On Sunday night and into Monday, I was shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone enraged that Carroll didn't just give it to Shawn at the 1-yard-line. I'm glad I waited to write about the game until now, though. For one thing, I didn't fall into the trap of <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/196697/conspiracy-theory-surrounding-seahawks-last-play">espousing dipshit conspiracy theories</a> about the play call (Sidebar: If there was a conspiracy to get Wilson the MVP instead of Lynch, why was Shawn's number called on first down?). Beyond that, upon reflection, calling a pass on 2nd down in that situation <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2015/02/why_pete_carroll_s_decision_to_pass_wasn_t_the_worst_play_call_ever.html">made a LOT of sense</a>.<br /><br />It's natural to become obsessed with that fateful play. We were one yard away from winning back-to-back Super Bowls. We were one yard away from football immortality. What if Bevell had called a fade to Matthews to the back corner? What if Russell had pulled it down and just walked into the end zone? What if Lockette had fought a little harder for the ball? What if it was an ever-so-slightly more accurate pass? It's so easy to tumble into that bottomless rabbit hole. But what if we DON'T focus on that? What if we don't become consumed by regret? We might realize that...<br /><br />-Our team was a yard away from winning the Super Bowl despite facing the 2nd best quarterback of all time with a severely hobbled defense. Beyond the tide-turning injuries to Jeremy Lane and Cliff Avril, our three best defensive players probably shouldn't have even been on the field. Earl Thomas III? Torn labrum. Richard Sherman? An elbow so jacked up that he needs Tommy John surgery. Kam Chancellor? He played with a TORN MCL. AND HE MADE 10 TACKLES. They played with almost unfathomable desire and courage. They crave that mineral (so to speak), and defeat is only going to make that craving more intense.<br /><br />-We might have found a legit deep threat in Chris Matthews, who had a NFCCG/Super Bowl performance that oddly mirrored Malcolm Smith's a year earlier.<br /><br />-Until the final play, Russell Wilson played magnificently. There are probably a good 27 or 28 teams that would commit unspeakable atrocities to have what we are on the verge of possessing: A franchise quarterback who will have us contending for Super Bowls well into Hillary Clinton's second term.<br /><br />-We have a team composed of men who are <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/196601/solidarity-and-seattle-seahawks-forever">supremely confident and unafraid to speak their minds</a>. Defeat won't change that, nor does it make those qualities any less admirable.<br /><br />So the boulder rolled all the way back to the bottom of the mountain on Sunday. That sucks, but do you know who else has experienced that? Don Shula, Tom Landry, Roger Staubach, Joe Gibbs, Bill Parcells, John Elway, Mike Holmgren, Brett Favre, Ben Rothlisberger, Tom Brady, and Bill Belichick. All of those coaches and quarterbacks have lost one or more Super Bowls, and NONE of their legacies are defined by those defeats. The same will be true of Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson, who have combined in three seasons to go 43-14(!) together, including the postseason.<br /><br />Let's look at how far the Seahawks have come in the 5 years since Carroll took over. In the 34 seasons before he arrived? 7 playoff wins, 10 playoff appearances, 6 division titles, 1 conference championship. In the last 5 years? 7 playoff wins, 4 playoff appearances, 3 division titles, 2 conference championships, and one Super Bowl win. Our franchise has grown from a South Alaskan footnote to a perennial NFL powerhouse. One play, no matter how traumatic, cannot change that reality. Carroll and Schneider have built an infernal machine: Youthful, Talented, Tough, and Brazenly Confident. This loss won't haunt them. It will FUEL them. Their terrorizing of the National Football League is far from complete.<br /><br />The sadness I'm feeling isn't just from the defeat in XLIX, but also from the sudden absence of this wonderful team in my life. Despite the way things ended, the 2014 Seahawks will always hold a special place in my heart (akin to the 1986 and 2012 teams). I've never seen a team fight through so much adversity to accomplish so much... and they just didn't win, they won with style and verve and brutality. What will I remember forever about this season?<br /><br />-BEAST MODE. Marshawn Lynch defines these Seahawks every bit as much as Pete Carroll or Russell Wilson or the Legion of Boom. He was a EASY choice for team MVP. 2014 was absolutely littered with additions to Money Lynch's legend. The <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/09/seahawks-26-broncos-20-ot.html">winning OT score vs Denver</a>. His amazing <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/11/seahawks-30-raiders-24.html">three-yard TD v Oakland</a>. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-imperial-march.html">BeastQuake II</a>&nbsp;(Thanks for asking). A dominant performance and the go-ahead TD in the NFC Championship Game. "I'm just here so I won't get fined." His nearly superhuman level of effort, his spectacular success (particularly in the postseason), and his iconoclastic style have made him perhaps the most beloved Seahawks player of all time. It's hard to imagine a trip to Santa Clara for Super Bowl L without our favorite Skittles pitchman in the backfield.<br /><br />-THE INDOMITABLE HAWKS. Stagger to a 3-3 start, while tossing your high-priced/high-maintenance/high-risk/high-reward star wide receiver off the team bus? Death blow, right? Carroll was losing the locker room! Russell Wilson wasn't black enough! Grind out a few wins, but absorb an improbable string of serious injuries to key players, and lose at Kansas City? Toast at 6-4. Three games out of first, they'd be lucky to sneak into the playoffs as a Wild Card. The post-Super Bowl hangover strikes again! <i>(Spoiler alert: Nope)</i><br /><br />-THE SPRINT. We might not ever know exactly what was said in the team meeting after the loss at Arrowhead, but it whatever it was, it certainly worked. Over the next six games, the Seahawks would stomp out Arizona and Santa Clara. They'd <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/12/seahawks-24-eagles-14.html">beat the Eagles in Philly</a> and keep them out of the playoffs. They <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/12/able-archers-and-final-victory-over.html">got Jim Harbaugh fired</a>. They wrecked what was shaping up to be the best season in Cardinals' history. They MARAUDED their way into the playoffs, and it was fucking glorious.<br /><br />-BAM BAM KAM FOREVER. Kam Chancellor delivered one of the most stunning individual defensive performances of all time in the <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/01/seahawks-31-panthers-17.html">divisional playoff against Charlotte</a>. He dropped sentient boulder Mike Tolbert like an anvil off the Fremont Bridge, terrorized the Panthers' field goal kicking unit, and sealed a trip to the NFC Championship Game with a pick-6 for the ages.<br /><br />-THE EMERALD CITY MIRACLE. From despair to resignation to hope to euphoria to anxiety to <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/01/seahawks-28-packers-22-ot.html">HOLY SHIT WE WON HOW THE FUCK DID WE WIN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK</a> to crying Russell Wilson to Michael Bennett on a bicycle. The most incredible thing I've ever seen at a sporting event... and I'm 39. I've been watching this shit for a spell.<br /><br />I'm not just proud of this team. I'm proud of all of you. I'm proud to be a Twelve. I feel connected to all of you, and that gives me comfort. It makes me feel better to know that all of you are hurting like I am. I'm not alone, and neither are you. We have each other, and before too long we'll be throwing another parade for our team, triumphant and covered in glory. Our destiny isn't that of the Kurt Warner Rams or the Brett Favre Packers. It's not a lone Lombardi. It's immortality. It's to achieve things that have never been seen before in this game. It's to build an Emerald Empire whose impact echos through the decades. What happened Sunday simply delayed the inevitable. Brady and Belichick won four rings in 13 seasons. We can beat that. We WILL beat that.<br /><br />I love my team, and I love y'all. GO HAWKS.<br /><br />For your entertainment (and debate): Here's the updated ranking of every team in franchise history- Enjoy!<br /><br />1. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/03/ranking-squads-1-2013-with-updated-all.html">2013</a><br />2. 2014<br />3. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/05/ranking-squads-1-2005.html">2005</a><br />4. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/05/ranking-squads-2-1984.html">1984</a><br />5. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/04/ranking-squads-3-1983.html">1983</a><br />6. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2013/01/ranking-squads-4-2012-with-updated-all.html">2012</a><br />7. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/04/ranking-squads-4-2007.html">2007</a><br />8. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/04/ranking-squads-5-1986.html">1986</a><br />9. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/04/ranking-squads-6-2003.html">2003</a><br />10. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-7-2006.html">2006</a><br />11. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-8-1988.html">1988</a><br />12. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-9-1987.html">1987</a><br />13. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2011/01/ranking-squads-10-2010-with-updated-all.html">2010</a><br />14. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-hitting-top-10.html">1979</a><br />15. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-hitting-top-10.html">1990</a><br />16. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-not-all-9-7-teams-are.html">1978</a><br />17. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-not-all-9-7-teams-are.html">2001</a><br />18. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-not-all-9-7-teams-are.html">1999</a><br />19. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-not-all-9-7-teams-are.html">2004</a><br />20. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-8-8-and-not-that-great.html">1998</a><br />21. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-8-8-and-not-that-great.html">1985</a><br />22. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-8-8-and-not-that-great.html">1997</a><br />23. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranking-squads-8-8-and-not-that-great.html">1995</a><br />24. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2012/01/ranking-squads-21-2011-with-updated-all.html">2011 </a><br />25. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-its-7-9-partaaaay.html">2002</a><br />26. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-its-7-9-partaaaay.html">1991</a><br />27. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-its-7-9-partaaaay.html">1996</a><br />28. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-its-7-9-partaaaay.html">1989</a><br />29. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-two-different-ways-to.html">1982</a><br />30. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-two-different-ways-to.html">1977</a><br />31. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-revenge-of-6-10s.html">1981</a><br />32. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-revenge-of-6-10s.html">1993</a><br />33. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-revenge-of-6-10s.html">1994</a><br />34. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-revenge-of-6-10s.html">2000</a><br />35. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-worst-of-worst.html">2008</a><br />36. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-worst-of-worst.html">1980</a><br />37. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-worst-of-worst.html">1976</a><br />38. <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/02/ranking-squads-worst-of-worst.html">1992</a><br />39. <a href="http://www.fieldgulls.com/2010/1/6/1237962/worst-seahawks-ever">2009</a>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/02/ranking-squads-2-2014.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-5803264103171895138Thu, 22 Jan 2015 22:45:00 +00002015-01-22T16:45:26.491-06:00Debasers and Negative Creeps: A Rivalry in 16 Parts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AV1LZHP5BGU/VMFvibkc8RI/AAAAAAAACus/qA_60mMinzQ/s1600/121014-rice-650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AV1LZHP5BGU/VMFvibkc8RI/AAAAAAAACus/qA_60mMinzQ/s1600/121014-rice-650.jpg" /></a></div><br />For the second year in a row, both #1 seeds have reached the Super Bowl (and it was also probably the modal preseason Super Bowl prediction, just like Seattle v Denver was last season). Right now the Seahawks v Patriots XLIX matchup is considered a toss-up, which is fitting because the two teams have split their previous 16 meetings right down the middle. Let's take a look back at 30+ years of the "Interstate 90" rivalry (It's just a 3,041 mile/42 hour drive)...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200812070sea.htm">BONUS GAME! 12/7/08: Patriots 24 @ Seahawks 21</a><br />The 2008 Seahawks were an awful team, but they didn't lay down and die like their 2009 Mora-"led" successors. Facing a Patriots team fighting for the playoffs (and in the middle of an 8-game winning streak), Seattle held leads of 14-3 and 21-13. Seneca Wallace had the best game of his career, throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions. Marcus Trufant shut down a still-All-Pro Randy Moss, but it wasn't enough. Matt Cassel led New England to the winning score late in the 4th, and Holmgren's farewell tour/death march continued unabated- But at least we put a scare into the Bostonians. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199209200nwe.htm">8. 9/20/92 Seahawks 10 @ Patriots 6</a><br />Yay! The Seahawks won!<br /><br />(3 months and 12 horrific losses later)<br /><br />Shit! Why'd we win that game? We lost our shot to draft Drew Bledsoe!<br /><br />(Sigh)<br /><br />Chris Warren racked up 122 yards and scored Seattle's lone TD. Cortez Kennedy sacked Hugh Millen three times and started building his resume for Defensive Player of The Year.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198909240nwe.htm">7. 9/24/89 Seahawks 24 @ Patriots 3</a><br />As late as 1989, box scores for Seattle were still filled with names like Krieg, Warner, Nash, and Green. Dave Krieg fired three touchdown passes (including one to John L. Williams, who stacked up 135 all-purpose yards), Jacob Green, Joe Nash and Rufus Porter all sacked Tony Eason... Wait. Did this game actually happen in 1986?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199010070nwe.htm">6. 10/7/90 Seahawks 33 @ Patriots 20</a><br />Fun fact: The Seahawks played six games at Foxboro from 1986 to 1993 (Huh?) and won five of them. This one was nothing to brag about, as the Patriots would eventually limp to a 1-15 record. John L. Williams was the offensive standout again, with 108 total yards. Derrick Fenner chipped in 77 yards and two touchdowns and Green and Porter sacked Marc Wilson (the next man up in a sad succession of pre-Bledsoe Patriots quarterbacks).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199309190nwe.htm">5. 9/19/93 Seahawks 17 @ Patriots 14 </a><br /><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199310240sea.htm">4.10/24/93 Seahawks 10, Patriots 9</a><br />I have no idea why we played a non-divisional foe twice in the 1993 regular season. Was that a common practice then? Did I just blank on this? 1993 was also one of those weird-ass seasons where everyone had TWO bye weeks- maybe that had something to do with it? In any case, the NFL saw fit to have the two worst teams from 1992 grapple twice the following season- They must have REALLY wanted to see Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer go at it, huh?<br /><br />Both these games are particularly vivid for me personally. The September match-up at Foxboro happened on the day I moved into my dorm at Western Washington University. My new roommate was fairly aghast to see that the first thing I did was hook up the TV and yell at it for three hours. Then again, he once made everyone who shared the Fairhaven Stack 8, Floor 3 bathroom come look at a particularly gigantic deuce he dropped... So he wasn't exactly a great exemplar of social grace himself. Chris Warren pulverized the Patriots defense for 174 yards on 36 carries and helped the Hawks build a 17-0 lead... Which the defense tried to crap away, of course. Bledsoe led two 4th-quarter TD drives for the Pats, but Seattle held on to win 17-14.<br /><br />A month later, I attended the rematch with a girl who was my best friend... but I was also madly in love with her (it was indeed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocmUBx1p3Jo">a long story filled with sighs</a>) ... As I wrote in this space before:<br /><br /><i>Being an 18-year-old dipshit, I had some weird ways of trying to woo her, like taking her to a Seahawks game. Kurt Cobain was still alive (in fact, Nirvana had released In Utero just a month before... it would become the soundtrack of my freshman year), as were the Seahawks chances of a competitive season. <br /><br />Drew Bledsoe's homecoming wasn't to be... With #11 out with an injury, Scott Zolak faced the Seahawks. But even with that advantage, the Hawks trailed 9-3 late in a very boring game. I was in a near-panic that she wasn't having a good time, and this whole thing was a very bad idea. <br /><br />Suddenly, Rick Mirer was doing his best Joe Montana impression. He drove us down the field, and with only seconds to play, threw the winning touchdown pass. The crowd went apeshit... even my lady friend got into it, and I got a nice prolonged, semi-passionate hug out of it. At that moment, the future was ablaze with possibilities, both for the Seahawks and my personal life. The Hawks were 4-3, and Rick Mirer was going to lead Seattle to football glory. <br /><br />That 4-3 start turned into a 6-10 lead turd of a season. That game was the high point of Mirer's career... It was all downhill after that. A couple of months later, my best friend started dating someone. I told her I was in love with her. It wasn't reciprocal. I didn't take it well. Crash. Burn. Despair.&nbsp;</i><br /><br />Yay?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198609210nwe.htm">3. 9/21/86 Seahawks 38 @ Patriots 31&nbsp; </a><br />The Seahawks visited the defending AFC Champs, but the defense evidently decided to chill out at the hotel rather than face the Pats. Tony Eason torched the Hawks for 414 yards passing and three TDs, and New England held a seemingly secure 10-point lead with less than three minutes left to play. A Norm Johnson FG cut the lead to 7, and after a three-and-out Patrick Hunter blocked a punt that Paul Moyer scooped up in the end zone for the tying touchdown. After another Patriots three-and-out, Dave Krieg hit Ray Butler on a 67-yard rainbow for the winning margin. Krieg would only complete 9 out of his 20 pass attempts, but two were long TDs to Butler (54 and 67 yards). Take that, Tony Eason! There were 38 points scored in the 4th quarter, and this was also the first time I blurted out a curse word during a Seahawks game in front of my parents (I was 11. It was "Fuck!").<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201210140sea.htm">2. 10/14/12 Seahawks 24, Patriots 23</a><br />The 3-2 Seahawks faced an early-season challenge against the defending AFC Champion Patriots, and sadly I was forced to watch at a sports bar next to a clump of particularly obnoxious New England fans... As I wrote back then:<br /><br /><i>Despite the dropped interceptions, the fumbles, the mangled punt attempt, the roughing calls, and the lack of a rushing attack, it was only 23-10. Then Russell Wilson hit on a deep ball to Golden Tate... Then on 4th and Goal he threw a perfect pass to Braylon Edwards (who made a spectacular catch). I let out a yelp and a few fist pumps. The Patri-douche reminded me that it was futile. TWICE the defense stopped Tom Brady (one of the top 5 QBs to ever play the game) and gave the ball back to Seattle's offense. First, a flaccid 3-and-out. The Pats then seemed largely content to let their defense win the game. Russell Wilson wasn't going to beat them, right? King Jackass of Greater Massachusetts reminded me of that at maximum volume.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Play-action. Half-roll-out. Perfect rainbow dropped right into Sidney Rice's mitts. Touchdown.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>I snapped. All inhibitions were sloughed off in an instant. The Social Contract was shredded. I was 8 years old. It was 1983. I was watching the Seahawks beat the Patriots in the Kingdome to clinch their first playoff spot ever. I screamed at the top of my lungs. I jumped and spun around like Oprah had just given me a new car. It was pure, uncut delirium- The joy that only comes from an unexpected victory. Diamond Joe Assmunch yelled "Too much time!" In my heart, I knew he was right. Over a minute on the clock, and Brady just needed a field goal. We all knew how this one was supposed to end.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Then Tom Brady found out the same thing Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton already learned via bitter experience this season: When the Seattle Seahawks absolutely, positively need to stop you, they don't check your resume first. They will simply brutalize you and your teammates and let you sort through the wreckage. As we stopped the Patriots on 4th down, Mr. Douche England BOLTED for the exit. He wanted NO part of my celebration. It was only then that it hit me...</i><i>&nbsp;This team is built beat the fucking shit out of you.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Even as New England built a lead, they were getting beaten to a bloody pulp. Finally, in the game's waning moments, it paid the greatest of dividends. Terrific Tom Brady seemed jittery in the face of Seattle's relentless pass rush. Their superstar WRs and TEs racked up some nice fantasy numbers, but couldn't make the plays that would have put the game out of Russell Wilson's reach.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Russell Wilson? All that kid did today was outplay Tom Brady. I am rapturously happy to be wrong about him. I am overjoyed that everything I've written about him now looks laughably obtuse, like those articles from the 1930s telling pregnant women they should smoke in order to relax. He's already a valuable asset only 6 games into his career, able to win games with his arm and his legs when given the chance, and the limit to his potential isn't even visible yet. Go ahead, Twelves. Embrace this. Go buy a Wilson jersey, dagnabit!</i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198312180sea.htm">1. 12/18/83 Seahawks 24, Patriots 6</a><br />The 8-7 Seahawks found themselves needing a home win against the 8-7 Patriots to clinch the franchise's first-ever playoff berth. My Dad took me to that game (my 1st ever, at age 8), and EVERYTHING about it was awe-inspiring; from the first moment I saw the Kingdome driving in from I-90, to the dizzying cavernous grandeur of the Dome's interior. Of course, as I grew older I began to consider King County Stadium more or less a shithole, but on that day, it was the Louvre to me.<br /><br />I screamed for what seemed like 4 hours straight, starting with a shrieking series of boos aimed at the Patriots as they took the field for warm-ups. We were in the 300 level, and there was no way they could possibly have heard me, but I still roared until my voice was gone. What an annoying little shit, huh?<br /><br />The game itself was perfect: The deafening roar of the 12th Man, a Largent touchdown, and an easy blowout victory. Famously, the Seahawks came out of the locker room after the game to mingle with the remaining Soldiers of Twelve left in the Dome. If I wasn't already hooked for life, this game sealed the deal.<br /><br />In less than two weeks, that epochal victory will be bumped out of the top spot on this list.<br /><br />Would you like to know more?http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/01/debasers-and-negative-creeps-rivalry-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-8640670203176113836Thu, 22 Jan 2015 03:43:00 +00002015-01-22T06:19:47.235-06:00Seahawks 28, Packers 22 (OT)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x8w57MQACFE/VL_4AgqW1MI/AAAAAAAACuM/i12GG3eISSw/s1600/kearseTDblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x8w57MQACFE/VL_4AgqW1MI/AAAAAAAACuM/i12GG3eISSw/s1600/kearseTDblog.jpg"></a><span style="clear: left; color: black; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">I thought about it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">I thought about leaving.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">I was heartbroken and forlorn, and there was a part of me that wanted to look away. For 55 minutes, the Seahawks offense had accomplished next to nothing, and Russell Wilson was playing the worst game of his life. I had an impulse to bolt, to avoid watching the Packers and their fans celebrate on our field. Then I saw Richard Sherman.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">Sherm took the field after RCW's 4th pick with his left arm bent and useless, held close to his body like a broken wing. He fought on. While his Green Bay counterparts were so sure of victory they were going to the ground after interceptions (rather than running them back for touchdowns), Sherman kept going despite an obviously painful and debilitating injury. I couldn't abandon him. I had to bear witness. Even though defeat and nothingness was nigh, I had to stay there for him. For them. I told myself to remember <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2013/01/welcome-to-desert-of-real.html">Atlanta</a>, <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2013/09/seahawks-23-texans-20-ot.html">Houston</a>, and <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2013/11/seahawks-27-buccaneers-24-ot.html">Tampa Bay</a>. I told myself that we just needed to go defensive stop-TD-successful onside kick-TD.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">But I also knew I was deluding myself. It was over.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">Before the game, I expected a relatively easy victory. I actually was a little depressed because I was sure the game with Green Bay would be a pale imitation of the <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/01/seahawks-23-49ers-17.html">2013 NFC Championship Game</a> against the 49ers. I thought that would be impossible to top. By the final five minutes, I had been left stunned and slack-jawed by our sloppy play and Green Bay's clampdown upon our offense.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">I thought about how the Seahawks had given me so much joy during dark, bleak times in my life. I thought about the years before I transitioned, when I was completely dependent upon the Hawks to distract me and give me something to look forward to each week. In an irrational but nevertheless compelling sense, I owed them. I roared for one more Green Bay possession- Yet another set of downs defined by Packer timidity and Seattle ferocity (more on that later). The Seahawks got the ball with just under four minutes left, needing two touchdowns to win. I couldn't think of a historical example of the Seahawks pulling off anything quite like this. The closest parallel was a <a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199912190den.htm">game at Denver</a> in <a href="http://www.fieldgulls.com/2010/3/25/1389015/i-am-jacks-broken-heart-my-1999">1999</a> where the Seahawks trailed by 10 with 2 minutes left. Those Hawks went TD-onside kick recovery-FG to force overtime. Then Jon Kitna missed a wide-open Joey Galloway for what would have been the winning touchdown, and was sacked/stripped on the following play. Denver ran back the fumble to win the game.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">Same Old Seahawks.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">For 56 minutes the Packers' defense held Seattle 194 yards of total offense. Russell Wilson had only completed 8 passes, and the Seahawks' only touchdown was thrown by Jon "The Regina Rocket" Ryan to rookie free agent Gary Gilliam. The Hawks raced down the field in 6 plays (and less than two minutes), paced by 40 yards from Marshawn Lynch. A RW3 touchdown run cut Green Bay's lead to 5 just before the two-minute warning.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">When the Hawks lined up for the onside kick, I held out little hope for a recovery. Only sixteen percent of onside kicks were recovered by the kicking team in the NFL this season. The last time Seattle recovered their own onside kick, <a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200910040clt.htm">Jim Mora was still our coach</a> and I <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/10/colts-34-seahawks-17.html">looked a tiny bit different</a>. I thought our best hope was forcing another 3-and-out, and the slim probability of going 80+ yards in just over a minute with no timeouts.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">Then Brandon Bostick went full-on Bill Buckner/Jackie Smith/Chris Webber, abandoning his assignment of blocking Chris Matthews to allow Jordy Nelson to field the kick. Bostick went up for the ball, which went through his hands, ricocheted off his helmet, and dropped into Matthews' mitts.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">At that point, I started to get nauseous. My legs began to twitch. The emotional fluctuations of the game were getting to me. They were apparently getting to the Packers' defense, too. The previously somnolent Seattle offense had fully awoken, taking the lead with a minute-and-a-half left on yet another dramatic Beast Mode playoff touchdown (punctuated by an almost dignified and subtle crotch grab). When the WolfBadger's blind cross-field heave was somehow corralled for a successful two-point conversion by Luke Willson, Seahawks Stadium became a roiling mass of incoherent, unbelieving ecstasy. In less than three minutes of game time, the Hawks had hopped off the slab, escaped the morgue and terrorized the entire state of Wisconsin.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;">MVP-in-waiting Aaron Rodgers proved his quality by driving the Pack into field goal range to force overtime, but just like against <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2012/12/seahawks-23-bears-17-ot.html">Chicago in 2012</a> and Denver <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/09/seahawks-26-broncos-20-ot.html">earlier this season</a>, Seattle won the coin toss and got the ball to start OT. Russell Wilson was so bad in regulation that Pro Football Talk was tittering about how much the value of his next contract had fallen, Thankfully RCW has the same short memory, talent and determination Steve Largent showed in a playoff game 31 years earlier.&nbsp;</div><div><br>In the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFOYYZygk7c">divisional playoff at Miami</a> on New Year's Eve 1983, Largent was held without a catch for the first 57 minutes of the game. But with the Seahawks trailing 20-17, the future Hall-of-Famer caught 2 passes for 56 yards to set up Curt Warner's winning touchdown. Just like Steve Largent back then, on Sunday Wilson ended an abysmal day with a season-saving flourish, On a 3rd and 7 from inside Seattle territory, Wilson delivered a perfect 35-yard strike to our modern Largent: Doug Baldwin.<br><br>Then, on the next play... This:<br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CDv9FnnXgGo" width="560"></iframe> <br>Wilson targeted Kearse 6 times Sunday. The first four were intercepted, the 5th attempt fell incomplete, and the last one put Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX. Cue Michael Bennett stealing police bicycles. Cue Russell Wilson crying to Erin Andrews. Cue 68,000+ strangers having a rapturous, near-religious shared moment of triumph. Fittingly, Steve Largent gave the George Halas Trophy to Russell Wilson after the game.<br><br>It's funny... Last season, when Sherm tipped the ball to Smith, my first thought wasn't "We're going to the Super Bowl!" It was "We beat the fuckin' Niners!" I thought nothing would EVER top that moment at any Seahawks game I'd ever attend. On Sunday, when Kearse scored, once again my first thought wasn't about the Super Bowl. It was "OH MY FUCKING GOD WE WON! HOW THE SHIT DID WE WIN????"<br><br>We won because the defense played heroically, largely shutting down Aaron Rodgers for the 3rd time in 3 years. We won because Marshawn might be the most clutch playoff running back since Emmitt Smith in the early 90s. We won because our pedestrian wide receivers got open and made plays when it mattered. We won because we played with aggression and joy while our opponents were absolutely paralyzed by cowardice and fear. OVER AND OVER Green Bay had opportunities to crush Seattle, but refused to take them, Mike McCarthy played George McClellan to Pete Carroll's U.S. Grant. I think every Twelve feels about Big Balls Pete the way President Lincoln felt about General Grant: <i>"I cannot spare this man- He fights."</i> <br><br>Carroll has molded a roster in his image, a tribe of scrappers whose mental and physical toughness has become legendary with no need for embellishment. They are at once superhuman and DEEPLY human: Their exuberance over the success of their teammates is genuine, as were the tears that flowed from our franchise quarterback after the game.<br><br>In the stands, my brother and I hugged and howled and laughed. After the team streamed into the locker room, I went to the ladies room. In a quiet moment to myself, I collapsed into sobs. I was exhausted and emotionally overloaded, but incredulously thankful. Thankful that we won? Yes. Thankful that we still had a chance to repeat as World Champions? Sure. Most of all, I was just happy it wasn't over. There would be one more game for this team I love- A team I love not just because they win, but also because of HOW they win. A team that approaches the game the way I want to approach my life: With hope, joy and limitless energy.<br><br>A win on February 1st wouldn't just be a Super Bowl victory, or even the birth of a dynasty. It would sanctify the Emerald City Miracle. Without an XLIX win, it's the Miracle of Ice without beating Finland in the Gold Medal Game. Without an XLIX win, it's coming back from down 3-0 to beat the Yankees without sweeping St. Louis in the World Series.<br><br>I was wrong about it being impossible that "The Tip" could ever be topped. Now, it seems impossible that the Emerald City Miracle could be surpassed. The Seahawks, however, have made a habit of proving me wrong.<br><br>What do you think, sirs? Share your reactions to the NFCCG in the comments section.<br><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FtVVoUV-SJQ/VMBv8xbWgBI/AAAAAAAACuc/gzorOCzx0sQ/s1600/10929213_10153180661718267_7182177010967757379_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FtVVoUV-SJQ/VMBv8xbWgBI/AAAAAAAACuc/gzorOCzx0sQ/s1600/10929213_10153180661718267_7182177010967757379_n.jpg" height="300" width="400"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/01/seahawks-28-packers-22-ot.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-4799422074696950359Tue, 13 Jan 2015 19:40:00 +00002015-01-13T13:40:15.381-06:00The Seattle Cheese Grating Company: A Complete History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WFrr3DuBmVM/VLVo64mpP0I/AAAAAAAACto/AMbrFB3AOCM/s1600/pcpackbig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WFrr3DuBmVM/VLVo64mpP0I/AAAAAAAACto/AMbrFB3AOCM/s1600/pcpackbig.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Up until a couple of years ago, it was difficult for me to lather up a good hatred of the Green Bay Packers. They've traditionally been a classy organization, they have heaps of (relatively inoffensive) tradition, tons of ties to the Seahawks organization, and they're the only publicly-owned NFL team (Shit- that should make a filthy lib-rul like me LOVE them). Aaron Rodgers is one of my favorite non-Seahawks, and they've been a very entertaining team to watch over the last few years.&nbsp;Back in 1996, when it looked like <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2008/08/that-bearded-nerd-saved-our-seahawks.html">the Seahawks might</a> <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2011/05/tangent-universes-seahawks-bolt-for-la.html">bolt for Los Angeles</a>, I <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2008/03/i-feel-ya-sonics-fans.html">strongly considered the Packers to become my new NFL obsession</a>. Unless you root for a rival NFC North team, the Pack was hard to loathe.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Until, well... you know... That <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2012/09/seahawks-14-packers-12.html">one play</a>. After Golden Tate's game-winning score on Monday Night Football back in 2012, a raging torrent of whinging burst forth from Wisconsin. Gee, you would have thought that the Packers <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2009/01/xl-what-we-really-think.html">just got screwed out of winning a Super Bowl</a>, instead of losing a game in WEEK 3 on a controversial call. The stench of entitlement coming from Green Bay and all of their fans was nauseating as well... But we'll get back to that play (and that game) later.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For a LONG time, Brett Favre alone gave us all plenty of reason to root against Green Bay. Mr. Wrangler Jeans dashed Seattle's Super Bowl dreams TWICE in playoff losses at Lambeau Field. In 2003, it was that heart-breaking OT "We want the ball and we're going to score" Wild Card defeat. In 2007, it was a soul-destroying divisional round blowout loss (after we jumped out to a 14-0 early lead). The Seahawks have only won 7 of their 17 previous meetings with the Pack, but this Sunday's NFC Championship Game is BY FAR the most important game these two franchises will ever play against each other. My prediction? A 27-19 Seahawks win that isn't as close as that score would indicate. But I'm getting ahead of myself... Here's our previous 7 wins over Green Bay, ranked:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198711150sea.htm">7. 11/15/87 Seahawks 24, Packers 13&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">How did the Seahawks win a game where Dave Krieg put up a 41.6 QB rating and they turned the ball over 5 times? They ran for 193 yards, including 123 yards and a TD from Curt Warner. Seattle's defense recovered three fumbles and picked off Packers QBs twice, helping the Hawks improve to 6-3. Side note for any Packers fans reading this: Who the fuck was Randy Wright? He was your QB that day, but that sounds like the name of some forgotten 80s R&amp;B singer.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198410210gnb.htm">6. 10/21/84 Seahawks 30 @ Packers 24&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Packers used to play a couple games a year down in Milwaukee, and those were usually the dates on the schedule against less "attractive" opponents. Before they stopped the Green Bay/Milwaukee split after the 1994 season, the Seahawks would face the Packers four times in Milwaukee and only once at Lambeau. Evidently our team from South Alaska wasn't worthy of prime dates up in Green Bay?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, in 1984 the Seahawks rolled into Alice Cooper's favorite town 5-2 and expecting an easy win over the 1-6 Packers. Lynn Dickey and James Lofton made the Hawks work for this victory, though. Dickey torched Seattle's usually dominant 1984 defense for 364 yards and three TDs, and future Hall-of-Famer Lofton had 5 grabs for 162 yards. After one quarter, Seattle trailed 17-7, and they were well on their way to a surprising defeat (Seattle also committed 17 penalties that cost 128 yards of field position. Damn!). Thankfully Krieg and Largent almost matched Dickey &amp; Lofton- Mudbone racked up 310 passing yards, and Largent hauled in 7 catches for 129 yards and a TD. The defense would also sack Dickey 6 times and pick off three of his passes, helping Seattle get out of town with a 6-point victory.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/game_query.cgi?tm1=gnb&amp;tm2=sea&amp;yr=all">5. 12/9/90 Seahawks 20 @ Packers 14</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I actually still have the videotape of this one- what I remember is Derrick Fenner just going OFF on the Pack, and thankfully my memory didn't fail me this time. Both teams came in at 6-6, so this was effectively an elimination game for the losers. Despite facing a Packers team led by Anthony Dilweg at QB (wait-who?), Seattle was a significant underdog- A dome team wasn't going to win an outdoor December game with&nbsp;temps down in the 20s, right?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Hawks had a nice little streak of good luck going at this point- They had won three of their last four games. One was the miraculous "Kreig-to Skansi" win at Arrowhead, and the other two were consecutive 13-10 OT wins over Houston and San Diego. On that chilly Milwaukee day it certainly helped us that Dilweg played down to his awful-sounding name- The dude went 6 for 22 for 69 yards and a pick before he was replaced by Blair Kiel (Man- they really had a dry spell at QB between Dickey and Don Majkowski, huh?). Kiel was a HUGE improvement, but by then Seattle had built a 20-0 lead primarily on the legs of Fenner, who toted the ball 20 times for 112 yards and a TD. Kiel would throw two 4th-quarter touchdowns to make all us Twelves sweat, but the Hawks hung on to win 20-14.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199911010gnb.htm">4. 11/1/99 Seahawks 27 @ Packers 7</a>&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was Monday Night Football, and the return of Mike Holmgren to Lambeau Field as Seattle's Head Coach. I remember pacing back and forth in my pathetic graduate dorm room at Ohio State, sweating and on the verge of puking before this one. Very few outside of the Twelve Army gave us any chance of victory, and it looked like Green Bay would snatch the early lead until Shawn Springs scooped and scored on a blocked field goal attempt. In my Springs jersey I ran out in the hallway braying like an ass,&nbsp;frightening the&nbsp;foreign&nbsp;students on my floor who had no fucking clue what a Seahawk was.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Favre would answer with a long TD pass to tie the game, but Cortez Kennedy sacked Favre thrice and Springs snatched two of Seattle's four interceptions. Ricky Watters gashed GB for 125 yards on 31 carries and sent the Pack into a downward spiral that led to 8-8 and Ray Rhodes getting canned after just one year as Head Coach.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Seattle rode this upset win over the Packers on MNF to a winning season and a playoff appearance (Well, there was that <a href="http://www.fieldgulls.com/2010/3/25/1389015/i-am-jacks-broken-heart-my-1999">horrific collapse over the season's last six weeks</a>, but still...).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200611270sea.htm">3. 11/27/06 Seahawks 34, Packers 24</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A SNOW GAME IN SEATTLE! This one was a great example of why Seahawks Stadium was a HUGE upgrade over the Kingdome- As loud as the Dome could get, it could never provide us with a memory quite like this one: Shaun Alexander shredding the Green Bay defense inside a snow globe.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hasselbeck and Favre cancelled each other out, both chucking three interceptions- But the Pack had no answer for Alexander, who delivered one of the last great performance of his career (we tend to forget the great games he had in our losses to San Diego and Chicago later that season). SA rambled for 201 yards on 40 (!) carries, but Seattle still found itself trailing a 4-6 team at home 21-12 in the 2nd half. Hasselbeck would finish strong with three late TD passes and the Hawks would end an unforgettable night with a 34-24 win.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201409040sea.htm">2. 9/4/14 Seahawks 36, Packers 16</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This game feels like it happened four YEARS ago, not four short months ago. Percy Harvin (Who?) had 100 total yards, Russell Wilson fired two TD passes, and Marshawn Lynch added two more scores and 110 yards as Seattle opened up their title defense in style.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201209240sea.htm">1. 9/24/12 Seahawks 14, Packers 12</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Let's cut the shit:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/content/shame-the-angry-mob-golden-tates-touchdown-was-legit/17706/">It was a catch</a>. The short version? Tate established possession and had two feet down in the end zone before Jennings got his mitts on the ball and got HIS feet on the ground. Touchdown, Seahawks! That one play aside, this was still a great win for the Seahawks on the national stage of Monday Night Football. As I wrote back then:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>The focus on officiating going full-on Chernobyl obscures a huge plotline of last night's game: The emergence of a Super-Bowl quality defense in Seattle. The eight first-half sacks jump off the stat sheet, but the Seahawks absolutely DOMINATED the reigning NFL MVP and one of the most powerful offensive attacks of all time. Aaron Rodgers could only lead Green Bay into the end zone once, and that was with a big scabby assist from a bullshit DPI on Kam Chancellor. Twelve points allowed against a team only months removed from averaging 35 ppg is more than impressive- it's a sign that we might just have the best defense in football. The defense was so comprehensively spectacular that it's hard to single out any players for individual plaudits. The moment that will stick with me is the complete smothering of Green Bay's final attempt to run out the clock (which was set up by one of about a dozen superlative Seattle special teams plays)- When we absolutely needed a stop, they got one. The Legion of Boom is starting to get a 2000 Ravens/2002 Bucs vibe going, and that should soil pantaloons all over the league.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What do you think, sirs? Did I miss anything?&nbsp;</div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-seattle-cheese-grating-company.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-5102514145639101719Sun, 11 Jan 2015 23:10:00 +00002015-01-11T17:17:45.290-06:00Seahawks 31, Panthers 17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X3MWybx-YDA/VLLArMiCqPI/AAAAAAAACsU/VdKf4Bru9IY/s1600/tumblr_ni0l1eblNT1swvjkho1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X3MWybx-YDA/VLLArMiCqPI/AAAAAAAACsU/VdKf4Bru9IY/s1600/tumblr_ni0l1eblNT1swvjkho1_1280.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Photo by Rod Mar)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Five years ago today, Pete Carroll was <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2010/01/welcome-back-to-next-level-coach.html">hired as the Seahawks new head coach</a>. He inherited a roster that was Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (so to speak). One seemingly small move in Carroll's complete demolition/rebuild of the Seahawks in 2010 was the 5th round selection of a safety out of Virgina Tech: Kam Chancellor. Seattle's starting safeties in 2009 were the serviceable duo of Jordan Babineaux and Deon Grant (whose average age was 28.5). Just like at every other position, Carroll's goal was to get younger/better/cheaper in the defensive backfield. Expectations were high for first-rounder Earl Thomas from Texas, but the former high school quarterback Chancellor slid into the 5th. The move into the secondary served Kam well with the Hokies, and he'd quickly build a reputation for wanton brutality once he reached the NFL.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bam Bam Kam has already made his mark in the league, being selected to three Pro Bowls, being named 2nd-team All-Pro twice, and surely haunting Vernon Davis' nightmares (among dozens of other offensive players). However, yesterday Chancellor delivered the best performance of his already illustrious career. He made 11 tackles, including an incredible individual effort to blow up a screen pass to DeAngelo Williams and a first down-denying hammering of sentient boulder Mike Tolbert. A bewildering flag denied him credit for an acrobatic blocked field goal at the end of the first half. With Charlotte deep in Seattle territory, and aiming to pull within 7 with six minutes left, Chancellor jumped the route and sped 90 yards for the clinching score (<a href="http://www.nfl.com/videos/seattle-seahawks/0ap3000000456487/Divisional-Round-Kam-Chancellor-highlights">highlights here</a>).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Chancellor is one of three Seattle DBs on a trajectory for Canton (Richard Sherman and Thomas also turned in spectacular performances against Charlotte). Constructing the Legion of Boom was relatively simple compared to the task of finding a quarterback who could lead Seattle to championship glory. Charlie Whitehurst? Oof. Tarvaris Jackson? Great leader. Tough and well-liked. Not the guy. Matt Flynn? Steady, but far from spectacular. Typically, if a new coach/GM combo made THREE bad calls at QB, they'd be chased out of town by a surly mob. Still on the board in the 3rd round of the 2012 draft? Russell Carrington Wilson.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The WolfBadger is 41-13 as Seattle's starting quarterback, and already has a Super Bowl ring. But since he doesn't throw for 4000 yards and 35 TDs every season, he gets tagged as a "game manager." If the small-minded bobbleheads of narrow vision weren't swayed by RCW's performance, they'll never be. There was the DIME he dropped fifty yards downfield to Jermaine Kearse for a 63-yard TD. There was his performance on 3rd downs: 8-for-8 for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns. His 149.2 passer rating was the 2nd highest of his career, and he turned in a dominant performance despite only scratching out 22 yards rushing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yesterday the Seahawks proved they could win even when things didn't go exactly according to plan. Despite Marshawn Lynch being held to only 59 yards, despite holding the ball for only 25 minutes, and despite allowing 17 points &amp; 362 yards to the Panthers, Seattle pulled away in the 4th quarter. The standout play of Wilson and Chancellor was more than enough to counter a solid Charlotte game plan and a better-than-expected day from Cam Newton. As usual, it was all about the ball, too. Seattle won the turnover battle 3-0, and the winning margin of 14 was directly attributable to 2 touchdowns off takeaways.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There are concerns going into the NFC Championship against Green Bay. Paul Richardson is out for the year after tearing his ACL, taking away a deep threat in the passing game. The status of Max Unger and Byron Maxwell is uncertain. MVP-in-waiting Aaron Rodgers is coming to town. This NFC Championship Game won't have the extra jolt it did last season against our most hated rivals, but it is shaping up to be an epic dust-up. Mike McCarthy, Rodgers, Carroll and Wilson will all be eyeing a legacy-securing second Lombardi Trophy. I can't help but think about the last time the Seahawks went up against the league MVP and his high-powered offense. How'd that <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/02/seahawks-43-broncos-8.html">turn out</a>?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'd like to wrap up on a personal note: I'll be at the game next Sunday. Immediately after the loss at Kansas City that dropped us to 6-4, I had to decide when I'd come out to Seattle for my usual Wintertime visit. In a fit of optimism, I picked the weekend of the NFC Championship Game. I'm GIDDY that the Hawks are making me look like a seer, and I'm ecstatic that I'll be there to once again give our boys a sonic boost towards the Super Bowl. They've never lost a playoff game I've attended, and they aren't going to break that streak next week.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In five years, the Seahawks have gone from this:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rYCRxa0B__8/VLMA86oQlZI/AAAAAAAACsk/WaLpHC0R9wk/s1600/Chicago%2BBears%2Bv%2BSeattle%2BSeahawks%2BzH27P8Lkkxnl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rYCRxa0B__8/VLMA86oQlZI/AAAAAAAACsk/WaLpHC0R9wk/s1600/Chicago%2BBears%2Bv%2BSeattle%2BSeahawks%2BzH27P8Lkkxnl.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To this:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6t8xVUVHlp0/VLMBX0RJaJI/AAAAAAAACss/6QiTnYe2Gvc/s1600/super-bowl-48-xlviii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6t8xVUVHlp0/VLMBX0RJaJI/AAAAAAAACss/6QiTnYe2Gvc/s1600/super-bowl-48-xlviii.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sidebar... I've gone from this:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SpzbtQs9Kw4/VLMCf7P5BSI/AAAAAAAACs4/w60vh8z3c0M/s1600/4242540840_f26064c357_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SpzbtQs9Kw4/VLMCf7P5BSI/AAAAAAAACs4/w60vh8z3c0M/s1600/4242540840_f26064c357_o.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To this:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MtN1NixEVs0/VLMCsEB7_lI/AAAAAAAACtA/vpgVEcR6BFs/s1600/tumblr_nhytpdo2xN1swvjkho1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MtN1NixEVs0/VLMCsEB7_lI/AAAAAAAACtA/vpgVEcR6BFs/s1600/tumblr_nhytpdo2xN1swvjkho1_1280.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Upgrades all around (And we haven't even peaked yet)!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">GO HAWKS!</div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/01/seahawks-31-panthers-17.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-3159968142688394076Tue, 06 Jan 2015 22:57:00 +00002015-01-10T05:07:12.751-06:00Ranking the Seahawks Playoff Wins (1983-2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FK1YGTyqnbY/VKxGi-qb1qI/AAAAAAAACsE/ShiWu8D-htw/s1600/664372_NFC_Championship1704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FK1YGTyqnbY/VKxGi-qb1qI/AAAAAAAACsE/ShiWu8D-htw/s1600/664372_NFC_Championship1704.jpg" height="265" width="400"></a></div><br>This Saturday the Seahawks host the Charlotte Panthers (No, I don't call them "Carolina," because that's a deeply asinine moniker for a pro team) in the 23rd playoff game in franchise history (OK, 25th if you count Super Bowls, but I put those in a category of their own, personally), and they'll be trying to notch their 12th (! NUMEROLOGY ALERT !) all-time post-season win. As we inhale before another 3-game sprint to championship glory, let's look back at our 11 previous playoff wins.<br><br><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198312240sea.htm">11. 12/24/83 Seahawks 31, Broncos 7</a><br>You'd think the first-ever playoff win in team history would be higher on the list, but this one is overshadowed by the upset win at Miami the following week (SPOILER ALERT). In addition, the game was a snoozer blowout. Steve DeBerg led the Broncos to their doom that day, before being replaced by (then rookie) John Elway in garbage time.<br><br>Dave Krieg only threw 13 passes that day, but he completed 12 of them for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns.<br><br><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200801050sea.htm">10. 1/5/08 Seahawks 35, DC 14</a><br>In the 21st Century, the Grim Reaper of DC Super Bowl dreams has worn blue and green. In the 2007 NFC Wild Card Game, DC was a fashionable pick to upset the Seahawks. Why? DC Free Safety Sean Taylor was murdered in late November, and the team banded together in the wake of that tragedy and hit the postseason on a 4-game winning streak. Sentimentality was certainly on DC's side, as was a strong national desire to see them meet Dallas in the divisional playoff the following week. Seattle came in having lost 2 of their last 3, but built a 13-0 lead going into the 4th quarter. Then all hell broke loose.<br><br>DC scored two quick touchdowns to take a 14-13 lead, and after a special teams brainfart on the ensuing kickoff gave them the ball deep in Seattle territory, things looked dire for the Seahawks. However, the defense held, and&nbsp;Shaun Suisham shanked a 30-yard field goal attempt. A Matt Hasselbeck interception snuffed the next Seattle drive, but then the defense stood firm again. Beck would then put an exclamation point on his Pro Bowl-bound 2007 campaign with a 20-yard TD strike to D.J. &nbsp;Hackett. With six minutes left, the Hawks were up by a touchdown, and then Marcus Trufant sealed the win in style...<br><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/OrE2lIcrVlA/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/OrE2lIcrVlA&amp;source=uds"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/OrE2lIcrVlA&amp;source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></object></div><br><a href="http://shaun%20suisham/">9. 1/11/14 Seahawks 23, Saints 15</a><br>The Hawks ran out to a 16-0 lead over New Orleans, but put Twelves into a state of panic in the 4th quarter (At one point I yelled at the TV and ordered Bobby Wagner to urinate upon a prostrate Saints player. Not my finest moment). After cutting the lead to 8, Drew Brees tossed a deep ball that fluttered and died in the howling wind. Two Seattle defenders went up for the easy interception, but neither snared it, and the ball fell into the waiting arms of Robert Meachem. The Seahawks were clearly cursed! Future Hall-Of-Famer Drew Brees would surely tie the game, and the Saints would complete the dramatic comeback and win in overtime, right? Thankfully, no. After that fluky completion, Seattle's top-rated defense forced three straight incompletions, and Shayne Graham's 2nd shanked field goal attempt (What is up with kickers named some variety of "Sean" and 4th-quarter FG tries in Seattle?) kept the Hawks' lead at 8. On the ensuing drive, a clutch Russell Wilson completion to Doug Baldwin on 3rd and 8 set up Marshawn Lynch's game-clinching touchdown scamper.<br><br><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201301060was.htm">8. 1/6/13 Seahawks 24 @ DC 14</a><br>Remember when Robert Griffin III was Offensive Rookie of the Year? It feels like that was 20 years ago, not 2. RGIII would lead DC to an early 14-0 lead, but would also clearly injure himself on the 2nd TD, a victim of the horrendously maintained playing surface at FedEx Field (later our own Chris Clemons would succumb as well). The Seattle defense stopped DC cold the rest of the evening, and a ferocious 27-yard Marshawn Lynch touchdown run would put the Hawks up for good in the 4th quarter. The Seahawks got their first road playoff win since 1983, and the career trajectories of RGIII and Russell Wilson began their spectacular divergence.<br><br><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200601140sea.htm">7. 1/15/06 Seahawks 20, DC 10</a><br>21 years. The Seahawks hadn't won a playoff game in 21 years, and despite winning the #1 seed in the NFC, Twelves were nervous and the football-watching nation was deeply skeptical. Anxiety turned into pants-ruining panic when NFL MVP Shaun Alexander was knocked out of the game with a concussion early on. Matt Hasselbeck responded with a gutsy performance punctuated by victory over former Hawk Shawn Springs in a sprint to the end zone pylon to provide all the points Seattle would need. Darrell Jackson delivered a stand-out performance with 9 catches for 143 yards &amp; a score, and after Mack Strong converted a late 3rd down the Seahawks advanced to just the 2nd conference title game in franchise history.<br><br><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200701060sea.htm">6. 1/6/07 Seahawks 21, Cowboys 20</a><br><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've talked a lot about this game in this space before, but I think it's important to focus on the stuff BESIDES Romo's blunder that led to this stunning Seattle victory. First of all, Romo ALMOST still killed our season anyway after fumbling the snap. He nearly ran for the go-ahead TD. Even worse, he was INCHES away from a converting a 1st down that would have allowed Dallas to burn off the clock before trying an even shorter field goal. Jordan Babineaux saved the day with his spectacular hustle and a textbook tackle.</span></span><br><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A couple of other things to remember: Even if Dallas had converted that FG attempt, the Seahawks would have had over a minute to get into range for a game-winner off the foot of Josh Brown, who had already won FOUR games in 2006 with last-second kicks. After the Seahawks got the ball back, Dallas still had timeouts remaining. If they had held Seattle to a 3-and-out, they would have gotten the ball back in good field position with time to get back into field goal range. Seattle's victory wasn't sealed until Shaun Alexander tore off a 22-yarder to eat up almost all of the time remaining.</span></span><br><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></span><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198412220sea.htm">5. 12/22/84 Seahawks 13, Raiders 7</a><br>The Seahawks entered the 1984 playoffs on a two-game losing streak, and the national media gave the fading Hawks little chance to knock off the World Champion Raiders. The greatest defense in team history (Pre-LOB Division) had its finest hour in that Wild Card game, though... Easley, Green, Nash, Brown, Bryant and the rest held L.A. to a single touchdown while sacking Plunkett 6 times and forcing three turnovers.<br><br>Coach Knox called 51(!) running plays, and Dr. Dan Doornink put up Curt Warner numbers: 29 carries, 126 yards and a key 3rd-down conversion late in the game. In all, the Seahawks rushed for 205 yards as a team and took complete control of the game. This is still probably the most physically dominant win in team history.<br><br><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201101080sea.htm">4. 1/8/11 Seahawks 41, Saints 36</a><br>The BeastQuake is the 2nd greatest play in franchise history (after Sherm's tip to Smith in &nbsp;the 2013 NFC Championship), and it was so blindingly awesome that it obscured the incredibly satisfying final performance by Matt Hasselbeck at Seahawks Stadium. After three sub-par/injury-marred seasons, Hass came up HUGE against New Orleans, firing four touchdown passes and outplaying defending Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees. When he ran off the field in front of the Twelve Army for the last time, it was in a moment of unexpected, satisfying triumph.<br><br><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198312310mia.htm">. 12/31/83 Seahawks 27 @ Dolphins 20</a></span></span><br><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">A whole generation of kids became Twelves for life on New Year's Eve 1983. I was eight, and just two weeks earlier I went to my first game at the Kingdome- The Seahawks won and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. They won the Wild Card game against Denver, but anyone with sufficient football acumen KNEW that was as high as the '83 Seahawks would fly. Now they had to schlep to Miami and face the defending AFC Champions, led by rookie phenom Dan Marino. The Seahawks got a collective pat on the head and a "nice season, kid" from the football world. They'd all get to see that epic Dolphins/Raiders AFC title game cage match everyone was dreaming about, right?</span><br><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br></span><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Weird shit started going down, though. For one thing, Dave Krieg was outdueling Marino. The unheralded Seattle defense outplayed the famous "Killer B's." Chuck Knox was out-coaching Don Fucking Shula, and Miami had no answer for Curt Warner, who racked up 113 yards and two TDs on the ground. Miami held Steve Largent without a catch all day, but #80 would haul in two catches for 56 yards on the climactic Seattle possession to set up Warner's go-ahead touchdown run. Nobody needed mistletoe as an excuse to kiss a stranger in Seattle that night...&nbsp;</span><br><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br></span><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200601220sea.htm">2. 1/22/06 Seahawks 34, Panthers 14</a></span><br>As I wrote back then, about the Seahawks earning their first trip to the Super Bowl:<br><br><i>From the moment owner Paul Allen raised the 12th Man Flag, the crowd became a roaring, towel swirling mass of noise which only rested when Seattle had the ball. When did the crowd go particularly insane?</i><br><i><br></i><i>-Hass to back-up QB Seneca Wallace (huh? We were ALL stunned), followed immediately by a lazer-beam snagged by Jerramy Stevens.. 7-0 Seahawks.</i><br><i><br></i><i>-Lofa Tatupu picks off Jake Delhomme (I spontaneously hugged my little brother for the first of many times at that moment)..</i><br><i><br></i><i>-D-Jack scores to ice it.. 27-7 Seahawks..</i><br><i><br></i><i>Once the score got to 34-7, the party began.. Chants of MVP for Shaun Alexander, roaring choruses of “Super Bowl! Super Bowl!”, old-school types singing “na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, hey hey hey.. gooooodbye!”</i><br><i><br></i><i>You know all about the action that went down on the field, but I was so gratified to see my team blossom before my eyes as a juggernaut on both sides of the ball.&nbsp;</i><br><i><br></i><i>Steve Smith? Erased. Those road-warrior Panthers? Reduced to quivering piss-stained wrecks by our smothering D and the assault of the 12th Man. Jake Delhomme? Don’t EVER claim he’s half the QB Hass is after that display of inept chucking and diving… The “soft” Seahawks? Ask Nick Going’s concussed brainpan about that one.</i><br><i><br></i><i>Every week, legions of reporters and opposing fans sound our death knell.. Every week, our opponents have been the ones feeling the bony hand of the football reaper on their shoulders… Pretty nice pattern, huh?</i><br><i><br></i><i>After the final kneel-down, grown men cried, including a little bit of misting up on my end.. Complete strangers hugged each other, and our howls of triumph cut through the damp Seattle night sky.</i><br><i><br></i><i>For 22 years I’ve waited for this, and it’s even better than all those scenarios I’ve imagined for years.</i><br><i><br></i>The best was yet to come... 8 years later.<br><br><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201401190sea.htm">1. 1/19/14 Seahawks 23. Niners 17</a><br>'The Tip" is the greatest play in team history, but what about "The Catch?" Earlier in the 4th quarter, with the Hawks trailing 17-13, Seattle faced a 4th-and-7 from the San Francisco 35. Thanks to NFL Films, we know that Pete Carroll considered a 52-yard field goal attempt, but Steven Hauschka didn't think he could connect from that distance. Russell Wilson was convinced he could get the Niners to jump offsides with a hard count, and Big Balls Pete decided to gamble in the biggest of spots. RW3 was prophetic, and the flag on SF gave Seattle a free play. Wilson took advantage, firing a RPG to Jermaine Kearse, who made the catch blanketed by a defender. Seattle took the lead for good, and here's what I wrote in this space about the game's dramatic conclusion:<br><br><i>There were three minutes and change left, and one more defensive stop would put the Seahawks in XLVIII. I was mentally and physically exhausted up in Section 325 by that point, but I somehow squeezed a few more minutes of noise out of my wheezing lungs. I'd love to tell you I was supremely confident, but as the Niners moved deeper and deeper into Seattle territory fright spread through my mind like an infection. Thoughts flashed through my head- Can I get out of the Stadium fast enough to avoid seeing those Emperors of Fucksville celebrate on our field? How would I get back to the light rail without talking to anyone? How depressing is my flight home going to be? Even as these thoughts clouded my mind, I yelled. I screamed. I roared. That was my only tether to some semblance of sanity.</i><br><i><br></i><i>My seats are up in the south end zone, next to the Twelfth Man Flag. They're not the best seats, but sometimes they give me a perspective you don't get watching on TV. With 30 seconds left, the Niners lined up at our 18-yard-line. From where I sat, I could see Richard Sherman was covering Michael Crabtree. Once the ball was snapped, Avril pressured Kaepernick into a slightly hurried throw and I thought "OH SHIT! He threw at Sherm!" For a split second, I thought Sherman would pick the ball off, but we all know what happened next: He somehow tipped the ball volleyball-style back to Malcolm Smith. Interception. Bedlam.&nbsp;</i><br><i><br></i><i>In an instant I shifted from pre-emptive depression to the most boundless joy imaginable. The Seahawks win! The Seahawks beat the Niners! THE SEAHAWKS ARE GOING TO THE FUCKING SUPER BOWL!!!!! At the moment, I knew that I was experiencing the best it could EVER get at a Seahawks home game. This was it. This was better than my first game. It was better than being there for Steve Largent's last NFL game. It was better than the last regular season game at the Kingdome, or seeing Romo drop the snap, or even the 2005 NFC Championship Game. I have been at dozens of Seahawks home games over the last 30 years, but there's no way another game in Seattle will ever top the 2013 NFC Championship Game. The Hawks battled their fiercest rival with a Super Bowl berth on the line, and both teams played magnificently. With a huge chunk of the nation watching, the Seahawks (and the Twelve Army) prevailed and proved their quality.&nbsp;</i><br><i><br></i>What do you think, Twelves? Did I get the rankings right? Let me know in the comments!http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2015/01/ranking-seahawks-playoff-wins-1983-2014.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-2204087505314751690Mon, 29 Dec 2014 21:30:00 +00002014-12-29T15:30:20.439-06:00Seahawks 20, Rams 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UeIiXv6aLRw/VKGm5p63-wI/AAAAAAAACqY/n5Gof7EqebA/s1600/lSS9ZUT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UeIiXv6aLRw/VKGm5p63-wI/AAAAAAAACqY/n5Gof7EqebA/s1600/lSS9ZUT.jpg" height="248" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">12 years ago, the Seattle Seahawks were banished out of their home for a quarter-century: The AFC West. Any Twelves in their 30s (or older) grew up hating the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, having night terrors about John Elway and the Denver Broncos, wishing for better luck at Arrowhead, and not all that worried about the San Diego Chargers. The move to the NFC West in 2002 was an exemplar of Seattle's NFL irrelevance: They were the only team to move conferences, in part because they weren't part of the "Old AFL club" in the AFC West. Seattle's NFL history, tradition, and rivalries were expendable. At that moment, the Hawks had not yet moved into Seahawks Stadium, and were only five years removed from nearly moving to Los Angeles. They hadn't won a playoff game since 1984, and had only one playoff appearance since 1988. The Seahawks? Who cared where they got shunted to?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While many of us elder Twelves pined for the old AFC West rivalries, they Seahawks got busy dominating their new division. In the 13 seasons they've competed in the NFC West, they've won the division seven times. They've also won more games than the Cardinals, 49ers or Rams in that time and made more playoff appearances than anyone else in the division.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not only are the Seahawks in the midst of a stretch of divisional dominance, their rivals are busy flailing about in desperation. Santa Clara just took a step backward by jettisoning their brilliant but insufferable head coach, and Arizona and St. Louis have built elite defenses while utterly neglecting the most important position in football: Quarterback. Yesterday the Rams rolled into Seattle hoping to derail the Hawks' advance towards XLIX, but as they have so many times before, they failed.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sure, they led for a half. Sure, the game was still tied going into the 4th quarter. But the conclusion of Seahawks games have become as rote and predictable as the 3rd act of Marvel films (Seriously... The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy have the <a href="http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-things-that-must-happen-to-keep-marvel-movies-awesome/">SAME DAMN ENDING</a>). In EVERY game of Seattle's season-ending winning streak, a competitive contest at halftime was sculpted into a double-digit Seahawks triumph. In every game, the enemy was pushed, pressed and pummeled by a stronger, tougher Seattle side until they broke.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yesterday against St. Louis, three 4th-quarter takeaways by the Legion of Boom sealed the division crown and home field advantage for the Seahawks: First, Jordan Hill's acrobatic interception of a panicked Shaun Hill throwaway attempt to set up the go-ahead Marshawn Lynch touchdown. Next, Bobby Wagner jarred the ball loose from Lance Kendricks and Bruce Irvin snatched it out of the air and sprinted 49 yards for his 2nd touchdown of the season. Finally, Earl Thomas' otherworldly forced fumble to snuff out St. Louis' last realistic hope for victory (gif'd for your amusement at the top of this post). It's time for us to have a serious conversation among Twelves: Is Earl Thomas the best defender in franchise history? It might seem blasphemous to put him above Cortez Kennedy and Kenny Easley, but even if he's not there yet his trajectory to the Ring of Honor, #29 hanging from the Seahawks Stadium rafters, and the Hall of Fame is obvious and seemingly inevitable.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Zooming out to look at the defense as a unit, they are making a serious case that they are the greatest defensive unit in the history of the sport. In an era where scoring is at an all-time high, Seattle's D is doing things not seen since the heyday of Pittsburgh's Steel Curtain in the 1970s. For the third year in a row, they led the league in scoring defense. They led the league in total defense for the 2nd year in a row. They have only allowed THREE touchdowns in their last six games. They haven't allowed a SINGLE 4th-quarter point during the current winning streak. The Legion of Boom? They are the <a href="http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp">Mantis Shrimp</a> of the NFL: Beautiful to watch and apocalyptically lethal. It's hard to see how even Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady will be able to prevail against a defense of such historically anomalous power.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maybe they'd be able to win a low scoring slugfest? Perhaps, but Seattle will batter them with the NFL's best rushing offense and flummox them with the game's most unpredictable, improvisational quarterback. One of the most encouraging recent developments in Seattle is the emergence of rookie WR Paul Richardson, who had 5 catches for 60 yards (including an impressive 32-yard snag to set up a field goal). My gut feeling? Preach might be ready to make the kind of impact in the postseason that Percy Harvin had in XLVIII (without all the surliness and team-mate punching).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now the Seahawks get two weeks to rest up for either Arizona, Charlotte or Detroit. The Hawks will likely be healthier than they've been since September, and primed for a 3-game rampage into the pantheon of professional sports dynasties. The dominance of their division has been demonstrated once again, and the next month will be a demonstration of their mastery over the entire sport.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M7GHMBBuuEQ/VKHHIMe25KI/AAAAAAAACqo/_gD7x75QzUs/s1600/IrvinRamsTD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M7GHMBBuuEQ/VKHHIMe25KI/AAAAAAAACqo/_gD7x75QzUs/s1600/IrvinRamsTD.jpg" height="263" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What do you think, sirs?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/12/seahawks-20-rams-6.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-1243332335231645077Wed, 24 Dec 2014 21:39:00 +00002014-12-24T15:39:07.543-06:00The Imperial March<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-5YeIl0OLsnQ/VJsaFuKtYTI/AAAAAAAACp8/cGm8aVgF8_Q/s1600/1419227114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-5YeIl0OLsnQ/VJsaFuKtYTI/AAAAAAAACp8/cGm8aVgF8_Q/s640/1419227114.jpg" height="400" width="323" /> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They are better than they were last year.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The 2013 Seahawks boasted one of the most dominant defenses of all time. The special teams? Also historically outstanding. The offense was a battering ram at one end and a bazooka at the other, pummeling the enemy into submission and then exploding for big plays to put away those dazed opponents. They beat former Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees in the divisional playoffs, outlasted a fearsome San Francisco side in the NFC Championship Game, and pulverized Peyton Manning and the favored Broncos to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This team is better.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Six weeks ago, Seattle was 6-4 and staggering into what appeared to be an unsurvivable gauntlet: Arizona, Santa Clara, Philly, Santa Clara, Arizona. Without Brandon Mebane and Max Unger, analytic sites like fivethirtyeight.com projected the Seahawks to miss the playoffs.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today fivethirtyeight is talking about how the Seahawks could go down as (analytically speaking) the best team in NFL history. What the heck happened?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Those five games? The Seahawks won all of them, and by an aggregate score of 114-33. Each foe limped away fundamentally broken, too. Santa Clara and Philadelphia haven't won a single game between them since falling to Seattle, and both have sunk into the abyss and out of playoff contention. Five weeks ago, the Arizona Cardinals were 9-1, and three games ahead of Seattle in the NFC West Standings. Today they are 11-4 and a long-shot to win the division. Yes, they'll make the playoffs, but they've been tenderized by the Emerald Empire. If they somehow can win a Wild Card game with some rando under center, their prize will likely be a trip back to Seattle to face a team that just drew and quartered them TWICE within a month. A divisional round trip to Seahawks Stadium to face a team that waylaid you 54-9 over that brace of contests? That's a suicide mission.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We've seen dominant 5-game stretches by this franchise before. The 1986 Seahawks ended the season &nbsp;as the hottest team in the NFL, going 5-0 and beating their opponents 167-74. In 2012, the Hawks sprinted through the tape over the season's final month, going from 6-5 to 11-5 while outscoring the enemy 193-60. The frightening thing about THIS Seahawks squad? Not only is the defense giving up less than seven points a game over the last month, but in Glendale on Sunday, against an "elite" defense, Seattle's offense went so thermonuclear I half-expected Edward Teller to rise from the grave just to exclaim "Fuuuuuuuuck."&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">596 yards of offense (the most allowed by the Cardinals since 1958). 35 points (which is more than Seattle's defense has allowed over the last five games). Russell Wilson accounted for 427 of those yards and three touchdowns, making his Pro Bowl snub this week seem particularly laughable (But who gives a shit? He won't be playing in the game anyway. He'll be prepping for XLIX). The Hawks posted a head-spinning succession of "explosives." An 80-yard TD pass to Luke Wilson. A 55-yard run by RW3. A 49-yarder to Angry Doug Baldwin. And that run... BeastQuake II.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The media can't stand Marshawn Lynch. The bobbleheads in the league office in New York disapprove of his actions. To most neutral fans, he's at best bewildering and at worst despicable. Judging by media reports, even PCJS are fairly desperate to move on. But to Twelves? Beast Mode is, as Stephen King wrote about a character once, a "fifth-rate god." Does ANYONE in the Twelve Army care that he missed the first quarter with an upset stomach? Hell no. His 79-yard 4th quarter touchdown run once again proved that MoneyLynch is a "God-Damn One-Man Slaughterhouse."&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">No, it wasn't as spectacular as his run against the Saints in the 2010 NFC Wild Card Game, but it was a close second in a career defined by maximum effort and near-psychotic aggression. Someday, he'll have a statue outside Seahawks Stadium. Propriety will dictate that it'll be Lynch stiff-arming Tracy Porter during the original BeastQuake, but in your hearts you KNOW it should be Marshawn in midair. Ball held aloft in one hand and his... ahem... business... in the other. If his Seattle tenure ends after this season (NO NO NO NO NO), his honored place in franchise lore is already secured.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Only St. Louis stands between Seattle and home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Yes, the more cautious among us are playing up the threat the Rams pose to our playoff dreams... But in this moment, the WolfGreys will not fail. What I see in this team is astounding. Watch Marshawn's TD again. Watch Ricardo Lockette SPRINTING downfield to get in one last block. Watch Earl Thomas III jump into the end zone celebration like a high school kid. Watch the utter, unhinged JOY on the sidelines from Kam Chancellor and Pete Carroll. Whatever issues existed in the locker room at midseason seem resolved. Not only are the Seahawks the most talented team in the NFL, they are the most tightly-knit and the most intense. They understand what is at stake, what is sitting there in front of them for the taking: Immortality. A real chance at not just winning another Super Bowl, but also to be remembered as the greatest team that has ever played America's Game. In a league that is structured to prevent multi-year dominance, they are 4 wins away from forging a link in a historical chain that goes Packers-Dolphins-Steelers-49ers-Cowboys-Patriots-Seahawks.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Right now, the question doesn't appear to be about the existence of an Emerald Empire, but about how long it will reign. How long will the other 31 NFL kingdoms be reduced to peasant fiefdoms under Renton's brutal rule?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Would You Like To Know More?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-imperial-march.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-4444431331214318411Wed, 17 Dec 2014 10:41:00 +00002014-12-17T10:26:00.507-06:0012/17/14 Appearance on the SeaHawkers Podcast<div dir="ltr"><a href="http://seahawkerspodcast.libsyn.com/52-49ers-recap-and-cardinals-preview-with-guests-ramona-peel-and-mark-tye-turner">Here it is! </a>I come in at the 1:04:35 mark, but the whole thing is very much worth a listen. The other guest is Mark Tye Turner, author of the definitive Seahawks fan history "Notes From a 12th Man." Enjoy! Go Hawks! </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">Subscribe to The Sea Hawkers Podcast on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sea-hawkers-podcast-official/id686065962?mt=2">iTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sea-hawkers-podcast-seattle-seahawks-nfl-football/the-sea-hawkers-podcast-seattle-seahawks-nfl-football">Stitcher</a>...&nbsp;</div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/12/121714-appearance-on-seahawkers-podcast.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-1815462567592059809Tue, 16 Dec 2014 20:41:00 +00002014-12-16T21:00:43.779-06:00Able Archers (and the Final Victory Over The Santa Clara Red Menace)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jDgnaHfDqug/VJCDX2EYwEI/AAAAAAAACps/pZ38DbmZld8/s1600/ETIII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jDgnaHfDqug/VJCDX2EYwEI/AAAAAAAACps/pZ38DbmZld8/s1600/ETIII.jpg" height="287" width="400"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I was a kid growing up in the Tri-Cities in the 1980s, I marinated in what seemed like an immutable global reality: That the "Cold War" between the United States and the Soviet Union would continue throughout my lifetime. Just miles away was the <a href="http://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/NReactor">N-Reactor</a> at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, which produced plutonium for the American nuclear arsenal. More than once, I heard adults brag about how the work there was so important that it made my hometown a Soviet "first strike" target. After watching <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VG2aJyIFrA">"The Day After"</a> when it aired on ABC in the fall of 1983, I would have regular nightmares about nuclear war for decades (Even now, every once in a while... What a retro apocalypse!).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Like most people alive during that era, I thought that either Mutually Assured Destruction would keep the peace (relatively speaking) until I naturally shuffled off this mortal coil... Or I'd perish with most of humanity in the nuclear holocaust World War III would rain down upon us. Either way, the Cold War would go on interminably. Even in popular culture set in the future, that perspective was obvious. Go watch the underrated 1984 sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7el-E9Wk1bQ">2010: The Year We Make Contact</a> includes a young Helen Mirren as a Soviet Cosmonaut, as well as a batch of hilariously incorrect predictions about life in the Time of the BeastQuake. People would commonly keep Dolphins as housepets! There'd be manned missions to Jupiter! The Astrodome would still be the home of the Houston Astros, and so on. A key plot point of the movie was that even while American and Soviet explorers were trying to solve the mystery of what happened to the Discovery in the first film, their governments were on the brink of war (caused by a vaguely Cuban-Missile-Crisis-esque standoff in Honduras). When I saw the movie on cable, I remember being pissed that we had to hitch a ride with those Commies to Jupiter, and also hoping that we'd beat the Soviets to Mars in real life (at age 10, I was a good little Alex P. Keaton-style conservative).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nobody had any idea the Soviet Union would collapse just six years later. That fearsome empire was far more fragile than anyone could have imagined, and when it started to unravel it quickly became clear the whole system was rotted out from the inside.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 2011, the Red Menace down the coast in San Francisco seemed to have found a leader who would return them to the Super Bowl glory they enjoyed back when Sly Stallone was kicking Russkie ass from Vietnamese POW camps to Moscow boxing rings. Jim Harbaugh quickly molded the Niners' considerable talent into a Super Bowl contender, and that season San Francisco beat the Seahawks twice while Pete Carroll was still searching for his franchise quarterback (though in the December match-up in Seattle the Hawks very nearly stole a victory). Harbaugh immediately (and stunningly) became a much bigger irritant to the Twelve Army than Mike Singletary had ever been. His arrogance and petulance made him incredibly easy to hate, and his team took on the same aggravating attitude. A pair of fumbled punts in the NFC Championship would keep the 49ers from reaching Super Bowl XLVI, but the young, talented San Franciscans were primed to accomplish big things.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 2012, Harbaugh found HIS quarterback in Nevada's Colin Kaepernick, and an concussion to Alex Smith gave Mr. Walmart Khakis a flimsy pretext to switch QBs. Smith had led SF to a narrow win over the Seahawks at Candlestick, but in the rematch at Seahawks Stadium on Sunday Night Football, Seattle snuffed out the Niners 42-13. If not for a defensive collapse in the final 30 seconds at Atlanta in the divisional playoffs, the fierce NFC West rivals would have met again in the conference championship game. Harbaugh and Kaepernick had their shot at Super Bowl glory in the Superdome, but their post-power outage comeback attempt to win XLVII fell just short. But now Harbaugh had his franchise QB, right?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 2013, San Francisco blew their shot at revenge/redemption. In the SNF rematch in Seattle, they absorbed a 29-3 walloping. They'd eke out a 19-17 win at the Stick in December, but that couldn't stop Seattle from winning the NFC West and locking down home field advantage for the playoffs. Finally, the dust-up the football world was waiting for happened in the NFC Championship Game. Us 12s have that game seared into our grey matter for all time... Beast Mode TD... A 4th Down bomb to Kearse to put us ahead... 3 4th quarter Kaepernick turnovers... The Tip.. The interception... The Crabtree shove... "The Best Corner In The Game..." Green and Blue confetti. Two weeks later the Seahawks would win it all, but surely these two titans would keep trading haymakers for years to come, right?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Early in the 2014 campaign, BOTH contenders were staggering. The losses and injuries piled up (and so did the arrests down in Santa Clara). The anonymous sources started talking: Harbaugh had lost the Niners' locker room. Russell Wilson wasn't "black enough," and so on. Two weeks ago, we saw the paths of these franchises violently diverge. The 7-4 Hawks went into the "Field of Jeans" (ugh) and hung a humbling 19-3 defeat on the 7-4 49ers. The Seahawks had gotten healthy, excised the locker room cancer named Percy Harvin, and surfed upon a new tidal wave of confidence and enthusiasm. The Niners? Their season reached a humiliating nadir with a loss to the forlorn, nomadic Raiders. Could they salvage their season (and destroy Seattle's) with a win over the Seahawks on Sunday?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For a half, it looked like they might. Russell Wilson threw an awful interception (after a highly dubious decision by Pete Carroll to take one last shot at the end zone rather than kick a field goal with eight seconds left in the half), and for a second it looked like the half might end with a Santa Clara pick-6 and a 14-3 Seahawks deficit. Somehow, Wilson got downfield and beat two 49er blockers to prevent the score, and from that moment on Seattle dominated.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The defense held Santa Clara to just 67 total yards in the second half, and the offense rode Marshawn Lynch to a pair of scores to end the Niners' playoff hopes with a 17-7 win. With Jim Harbaugh and possibly Colin Kaepernick about to be deposed by the Santa Clara Politburo, we can consign this chapter of the Seahawks-Niners rivalry to the history books. Today we dance on top of the Berlin Wall and attack it with pickaxes and bulldozers. Carroll and Harbaugh faced off 9 times since 2011, and Seattle went 5-4. The Hawks won by an aggregate score of 187-127, and most importantly they brought a Lombardi Trophy home to Renton. Harbaugh couldn't do likewise for the 49ers, and their five Super Bowl victories will fade further and further from memory with each passing year.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The war is over, and the Seahawks claimed final, total victory over Harbaugh, Kaepernick, and all their flunkies. It's now a one-Superpower world, and the Red Menace will have to deal with an unpleasant new reality: As they try to rebuild yet again, they'll be living under the hegemony of the Emerald Empire.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Have fun watching us win it all again, comrades. Dasvadanya, Harbaugh.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What do you think, sirs?&nbsp;</div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/12/able-archers-and-final-victory-over.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-253888170493632981Mon, 08 Dec 2014 19:06:00 +00002014-12-08T13:37:27.655-06:00Seahawks 24, Eagles 14<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-amJlmTwaiVc/VIXiH5od3AI/AAAAAAAACpc/TgBxdzCZOtA/s1600/LynchEagles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-amJlmTwaiVc/VIXiH5od3AI/AAAAAAAACpc/TgBxdzCZOtA/s1600/LynchEagles.jpg" height="262" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When you were watching 'The Empire Strikes Back," when did it hit you that it might be better than "Star Wars?" At what moment did you realize that "Toy Story 3" was even better than its two stellar predecessors? Or that James Cameron's "Aliens" surpassed Ridley Scott's original? Great sequels deliver a particular variety of joy because they are so rare and unexpected. "22 Jump Street" (another rare sequel that bested the original) exposes why most sequels are terrible by laying bare the tropes they fall victim to: "Do the exact same thing as last time. Everyone's happy." Bloated budgets and expectations lead to inexplicable/inevitable excess (like the James Bond villain-worthy new 22 Jump Street headquarters), but rarely to originality. Everything looks more expensive but overly familiar and stale. For every The Godfather Part II, there's a score of Ghostbusters 2s. &nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the last decade, we've seen a similar phenomenon in the NFL. The last defending Super Bowl Champion to win a playoff game was the 2005 New England Patriots. Every Champion since then has succumbed to the "Super Bowl Curse" (<a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/06/fk-madden-curse.html">Barf</a>). It makes sense. In the salary cap era, many teams will make short-term decisions in an attempt to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, only to wake up the next morning needing to make MASSIVE cuts to get under the cap before the next season (Hello, 2012 Baltimore Ravens). Even teams who win the Super Bowl without mortgaging the future are faced with the reality that role players will suddenly be able to command higher salaries on the open market. The XLVIII Champion Seahawks saw many players depart due to this brutal calculus (We miss you, Golden Tate!), and media bobbleheads like Peter King declared that, despite having the youngest Super Bowl-winning roster of all time, the Seahawks wouldn't repeat. Why? Because teams simply DON'T repeat anymore. Tamp down your expectations, because we know most sequels suck.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Over the first half of the season, the Seahawks were conforming to these low expectations. The Percy Harvin Experiment went Chernobyl on PCJS. The defense was suddenly vulnerable. There was "turmoil" in the locker room. Russell Wilson wasn't "black enough." Marshawn Lynch wanted out and/or the Hawks were intent on cutting him after the season. They went on a mini run after a 3-3 start, but those wins came against sub-par competition. After a brutal loss at Arrowhead, Seattle fell to 6-4, a full three games behind the division-leading Cardinals. The 2014 Seahawks? They looked more "Batman and Robin" than "The Dark Knight."&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then a familiar sequel trope: Beloved characters from the first film pop up deep into the second movie. Bobby Wagner and Kam Chancellor recovered from early-season injuries, and the defense was jolted back to life. Stifling the Cardinals and Niners was impressive, but yesterday Seattle faced the explosive Philadelphia offense, which was in the league's Top 5 of total offense and scoring offense. Would they be able to slow down Chip Kelly's fast break offense in the hostile confines of Lincoln Financial Field?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They didn't just stop the Eagles' offense. They nuked the entire site from orbit. It was the only way to be sure.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That offense that came in averaging 286 yards passing per game? The Legion of Boom held them to 82 net yards. The Walter Thurmond III and Brandon Browner roles were recast with Tharold Simon and Marcus Burley, and the transition was as seamless as Terrence Howard to Don Cheadle or from Katie Holmes to Maggie Gyllenhaal. The 139 yards the Eagles scratched out were the lowest total for the Philadelphia franchise since 2005. Yes, the green birds scored two touchdowns, but those weren't thanks to sustained drives against Seattle's defense. Both scores were set up by Seahawks special teams errors (one of the few remaining areas of real concern for Seattle). The WolfGrey Warriors are now the NFL's leaders in total defense, and are 2nd in scoring defense. They are back to playing at 2013's historic level of sustained dominance, and that has to leave every other Super Bowl contender trembling in fear and awe.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The offense has mutated into an unpredictable beast. After starting out the season enamored with Jet Screens to Percy Harvin, they've been forced to embrace an attack powered by Marshawn Lynch's barely controlled fury and Russell Wilson's prodigious gift for improvisation. Yes, the lack of a truly explosive threat in the passing game rightly leaves our brows furrowed, but as long as Wilson and Lynch are upright and healthy they're as dangerous a pair as Sarah Conner and the T-800 in Terminator 2. Beast Mode accumulated 113 yards and a TD on 28 touches, and the WolfBadger accounted for all three Seattle TDs (2 passing, one rushing), posted a 99.3 passer rating, and galloped for 48 yards rushing. Doug Baldwin also had a breakout game, catching 5 passes for 97 yards and a score (and drawing a 44-yard pass interference penalty that set up a score). Despite all of the turmoil on the offensive side of the ball this season, they are putting up almost 25 points per game, good enough for 10th in the league thus far.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now the Hawks close out the season with three divsional games. If they win all three, they'll win the NFC West and secure at least a first-round bye. If they win 2, they'll almost certainly make the playoffs. Next week is the dead-on-their-feet Santa Clara 49ers (whom I expect we'll shove into an open grave and bury alive), and then it's a trip to Glendale for the NFC West title.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of course, that will just be Seattle's first visit to Arizona this season. They'll return on Februrary 1 for Super Bowl XLIX. Oh, you say they might not be able to escape the frozen Hellscape of Lambeau Field? I say the Empire probably thought they'd capture Luke, Leia and Han at the Battle of Hoth. How'd that work out for Lord Vader in the end?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you want to see a sequel that surpasses the original, imagine the Hawks beating Aaron Rodgers in snowbound Green Bay, followed by a triumph over Tom Brady and the Patriots in the desert. That's some Bourne Ultimatum/X2-level shit right there.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What Do You Think, Sirs?&nbsp;</div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/12/seahawks-24-eagles-14.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-4979748249913140506Tue, 02 Dec 2014 20:28:00 +00002014-12-02T14:28:56.427-06:00The Pivot Toward Greatness (Via Chicago) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aJqvS2tuEv4/VH4a9LLspPI/AAAAAAAACpM/kqiYDmCLYM4/s1600/nfl_g_wilson_gb1_576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aJqvS2tuEv4/VH4a9LLspPI/AAAAAAAACpM/kqiYDmCLYM4/s1600/nfl_g_wilson_gb1_576.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Two years ago today, the Seahawks were 6-5 and coming off an excruciating 24-21 loss at Miami. As I said back then...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Today's defeat in Miami had the hallmarks of familiar Seahawks tragedies: TWO blown 4th quarter leads to an inferior opponent, aided by incredibly questionable officiating. It felt like New York in 1998 or Baltimore in 2003, didn't it? It was the sort of loss that stimulates the "Same Old Seahawks" lobe within the brains of a million Twelves. We saw our excellent defense fail comprehensively in the 4th quarter, and we saw our Pro Bowl running back get held to only 46 yards on 19 carries.&nbsp;A consensus emerged quickly in the wake of this dark afternoon: The 2012 Seahawks are good and fucked, and their playoff hopes are deader than a barrel of fish entrails.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the second time in a month. Russell Wilson led the Hawks on a late scoring drive to put the Seahawks ahead, only to see the defense immediately turn around and surrender that hard-won advantage. Seattle was on the verge of falling out of the NFC playoff race, and went into Soldier Field as underdogs against the 8-3 Bears. Trailing 14-10 late, Wilson led the Seahawks on yet another dramatic 4th-quarter scoring march, punctuated by the go-ahead touchdown pass to Golden Tate with only 20 seconds left on the clock. Then....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Effervescent joy turned into black, curdled despair in an instant. Jay Cutler chucked it deep to an inexplicably open Brandon Marshall and Chicago was in field goal range. Our old nemesis Robbie Gould banged home the tying field goal... Overtime. The most painful Seahawks loss since Super Bowl XL loomed. I started dreading the aftermath, and plotted my strategy for avoiding media coverage of this devastating collapse. Every Seahawks fan alive KNEW that if Chicago got the ball back, we would lose. We no longer trusted our defense to secure victory- Our only chance was to win the coin toss and drive all the way into Bears territory and score ANOTHER touchdown. &nbsp;I was a wreck. I was left shaking and frazzled... and with no real expectation of victory.&nbsp;</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Eighty MORE yards (and the Bears defense) stood between the Seahawks and a narrative-shifting, season-altering victory. Russell Wilson's temperament is thankfully much more stable than mine, and he led the Hawks on a triumphant 12-play, 7-and-a-half minute march. Wilson personally chewed up 28 of those yards on the ground, and only threw two passes over the entire drive. One was a perfect dart to Doug Baldwin to convert a 3rd-and-10, and the other was the game-winning touchdown pass to Sidney Rice, who got over the goal line before getting absolutely DESTROYED by a Bears defender.&nbsp;</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Two drives. 177 yards. Two game-winning touchdowns. That's what Russell Wilson delivered on Seattle's last two possessions. On a day that seemed to fit all the cliches of failure in Seahawks lore, Wilson decided to punch up the script and write a more interesting ending. Instead of leaving me calculating playoff scenarios and plotting out who needed to win or lose for Seattle to sneak into the tournament, Wilson has allowed me to think about seeding and... GASP! ...possibly still winning the NFC West. At 7-5, the Seahawks probably only need two more wins to get a Wild Card, but they have a real chance at winning the West if they can sweep their final four games.&nbsp;</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">You know the story from there: Seattle closed out the regular season on a 5-game winning streak, winning the last 4 games by an aggregate score of 170-43. They traveled to DC and <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2013/01/seahawks-24-dc-14.html">notched the franchise's first road playoff win since 1983</a>, but then the season ended <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2013/01/welcome-to-desert-of-real.html">thirty seconds away</a> from the NFC Championship Game. Starting with that OT win at Soldier Field, the Seahawks have gone 30-8 (including the playoffs), with two playoff appearances, 4 playoff wins, an NFC West title and a Super Bowl victory. With Arizona imploding and the Legion of Boom surging, Seattle looks to be on a trajectory toward another NFC West crown and a first-round bye (or even HFA if Green Bay stumbles in the last month of the season).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Two years ago today, the Seahawks pivoted towards greatness, and now it's clear they intend to continue cluttering up the trophy case back in Renton.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">What Do You Think, Sirs?&nbsp;</div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-pivot-toward-greatness-via-chicago.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-3960147827516078755Fri, 28 Nov 2014 22:05:00 +00002014-11-28T16:44:11.004-06:00Seahawks 19, Santa Clara 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3HuaaLcoP-U/VHjEjTx2TEI/AAAAAAAACos/jYYMEjcyZ9Y/s1600/ShermTurkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3HuaaLcoP-U/VHjEjTx2TEI/AAAAAAAACos/jYYMEjcyZ9Y/s1600/ShermTurkey.jpg" height="280" width="400" /></a></div><br />A few days ago, I had to make a decision about when I'd come out to Washington State for a visit. I could have come out for Christmas (and the Rams game), or any of the first three weekends in January. Flushed from the victory over Arizona, I bet big on the Seahawks. I decided to come out for the weekend of the NFC Championship Game. If I hadn't dawdled on my travel plans, if I had made this decision two weeks ago, I would have picked the weekend of the regular season finale. I would have been thinking "We'll probably need to win that game just to sneak into the playoffs." After two dominating wins over bitter divisional rivals in a mere five days, there's far more than a non-trivial chance I'll be screaming until I reach the brink of fainting at my THIRD NFC title game next January.<br /><br />I've always been an optimistic Twelve, and even at 3-3 or 6-4, I still thought "Oh, we'll make the playoffs, and then anything could happen." I had hope, but I wasn't brimming with confidence either. As The Postal Service once sang, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySyHZ87Ekhk">Everything will change.</a>"&nbsp;In their last 120 minutes of football against two NFC playoff contenders, Seattle's defense has allowed a mere 6 points. Bobby Wagner's return has made an enormous impact, but the entire defense is playing with more of the barely-contained rage and arrogant swagger that defined their historic performance a year ago. These Wolf Grey Warriors held Santa Clara to 164 yards of total offense(!), forced The Bicep Kisser into two hilariously horrible interceptions (and a passer rating of 36.7), and generally left the Niners appearing as if they were "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2AxfjxwFxw">drunk and flailing in cow shit</a>." Kaepernick was besieged all night, absorbing four sacks and numerous hits. Before the 1st quarter was over, the dude already looked more jittery than coked-up Jordan Belfort.<br /><br />The Niners' longest play from scrimmage? 16 yards. Frank Gore? 28 pathetic yards. Sidebar: How can a BRAND NEW STADIUM have such an atrocious playing surface? I half-expected to see Marshawn Lynch trip over a pile of manure or to spy a grazing cow setting a pick on Earl Thomas. Good job, good effort, Jed York.<br /><br />Actually, let's take a quick mid-post break to laugh at the entire 49ers organization. Their coach is a <a href="http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/hot-jim-harbaugh-tongue-action-1664208560/+bubbaprog">creepy</a> blowhard/<a href="http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/jim-harbaugh-pants-wife-san-francisco-49ers">cheap fuck</a> on the verge of unemployment, and <a href="http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2014/11/weve-reached-peak-49ers.html">both the owner and the GM's daughter are venting their tantrums via twitter</a>. Their new football cathedral gives <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/tim-kawakami/ci_27019868/kawakami-49ers-not-getting-homefield-advantage-from-new?source=most_viewed">them ZERO home field advantage</a>&nbsp;and <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/southbayfootball/ci_26360587/49ers-fans-complain-unbearable-heat-at-levis-stadium">roasts fans alive on sunny days</a>. With Kaepernick doing better at selling headphones than throwing a football, and Alex Smith's quiet efficiency in Kansas City, it's becoming clear that they got rid of the wrong quarterback two years ago. I haven't even gotten to the fact that their roster is <a href="http://blog.sfgate.com/killion/2014/08/31/49ers-under-harbaugh-lead-league-in-arrests/">festooned with reprobates</a>. On top of all of that, their fans still try to lord their ancient Lombardi Trophies over the rest of the NFL Nation... So it's beyond satisfying to see Richard Sherman <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/151696/richard-sherman-told-the-49ers-he-would-end-the-game">openly trolling the Niners and their "mediocre" fans</a>, and to watch Russell Wilson and Sherm <a href="https://twitter.com/SNFonNBC/status/538191578301345792">eating turkey on their fucking logo</a>. Knowing that last night's result effectively killed Santa Clara's season and might get Jim Harbaugh fired made it EASILY my best Thanksgiving ever.<br /><br />So Russell Wilson shared NBC's post-game turkey feast with Richard Sherman, and RW3's game is looking as fine as his newly bearded visage (<a href="http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/33/36/20/7201809/3/628x471.jpg">Damn</a>). While Kaepernick imploded, The WolfBadger was efficient and explosive, with his improvisational skill and escapability keeping Santa Clara's defense off balance all night. His escape/scramble/63-yard pass to Tony Moeaki to set up a Seattle FG was another one to add to your personal DangerRuss mega-mix. Marshawn Lynch cut the formidable 49ers front seven to ribbons, stacking up 111 yards on 21 touches. Beast Mode is 3rd in the league in rushing, and has earned consideration as the MVP not just of the 2014 Seahawks, but the entire NFL. Special teams turned in another sterling performance, with Steven Hauschka nailing all four of his field goal attempts and the punt coverage team forcing a turnover.<br /><br />Now Seattle seems to be primed for another Super Bowl run. Yes, the remaining schedule is daunting, but every opponent, scattered from Philadelphia to St. Louis to the barren sun-scorched desert the Cardinals call home, watched last night's game and quietly muttered "Fuuuuuuuuck." If the Seahawks can just solve their lingering Red Zone efficiency issues, they might start dropping 40-and-50 burgers on suckas like it was December 2012 all over again. If Seattle can run the table and hit the playoffs at 12-4 they'll likely win the NFC West and the top NFC playoff seed (via tiebreakers over Green Bay, Arizona and Philadelphia). That'd be ideal, but if the defense keeps playing like this I don't think it matters if the games are played in Seattle, Green Bay, or the Tesseract from Interstellar. The Hawks would maul any team unfortunate enough to face them. For entirely selfish reasons, I want the Seahawks to keep marauding through the rest of the schedule. I want there to be a home game when I'm visiting Seattle MLK Jr. Weekend. <br /><br />I'll let Sherm have the last word today:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3n_rK_7e5h8/VHjvBZGEBvI/AAAAAAAACo8/otFrf1IH4lY/s1600/ShermShush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3n_rK_7e5h8/VHjvBZGEBvI/AAAAAAAACo8/otFrf1IH4lY/s1600/ShermShush.jpg" height="211" width="400" /></a></div><br />http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/11/seahawks-19-santa-clara-3.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-1351196391841455577Wed, 26 Nov 2014 19:27:00 +00002014-11-26T13:37:09.997-06:00Thoughts on Thanksgiving Eve/Top 10: Seahawks Beat Niners! (Updated)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZgSEr_Pr6ss/VHYgvAMATBI/AAAAAAAACoM/TQBqyk0YLYg/s1600/sherman01-600x337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZgSEr_Pr6ss/VHYgvAMATBI/AAAAAAAACoM/TQBqyk0YLYg/s1600/sherman01-600x337.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Wow. If you haven't watched Richard Sherman and Doug Baldwin's EVISCERATION of the NFL and its absurd policies, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLbv4_TpsL8">this video</a> deserves two and a half minutes of your time. &nbsp;Beyond the unassailable rightness of their remarks, I'm encouraged by what it means for the mindset of the team. Like Bob Belcher said about Gene's performance during the opening round of the Competitive Table Setting Tournament: <a href="http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/bobs-burgers-boyz-4-now-96579">"He looks good. He looks loose."</a>&nbsp; The Seahawks look confident and defiant, but loose. At the same moment, the jittery, paranoid 49ers are <a href="https://twitter.com/timkawakami/status/537370737955196928">ordering team security to kick the media out of the locker room</a>. The Seahawks have constructed an infernal machine, a <a href="https://twitter.com/zjwhitman/status/537423826091401217">ground attack that is one of the most powerful in NFL history</a>, and it's set to grind out a win in Santa Clara Thanksgiving Night. I envision a 19-9 Seattle win, sealed with a Richard Sherman pick-6 late in the 4th. What shape will Michael Crabtree's hissy fit take afterwards? What do y'all think? In any case, here's a new iteration of Seattle's Top 10 wins over Santa Clara. Enjoy!</div><br />10.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199712210sea.htm">December 21, 1997: Seahawks 38, Niners 9</a><br />The Niners came in with the NFC's #1 seed locked up, and treated this like a glorified preseason game. Despite that, this was still a rousing win. Warren Moon wrapped up his spectacular 1997 Pro Bowl season with four TD passes, including two to Joey Galloway. 1997 was my first season as a Seahawks season ticket holder, so that game has an added bit of personal significance...<br /><br />9.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200511200sfo.htm">&nbsp;November 20, 2005: Seahawks 27 @ Niners 25</a><br />This was one of the shakiest performances of Seattle's 2005 NFC Championship season, but it showed the Hawks' ability to pull out a victory even when they weren't playing their best football. The Seahawks had a 27-12 lead going into the 4th, but they allowed Ken Dorsey (Wait... What?) to rally the 49ers to within a 2-point conversion in the final seconds. But this was 2005, NOT 2003 or 2004- This lead wouldn't get blown. Under pressure Dorsey's pass fell harmlessly to the turf and Seattle's sprint to XL continued unabated.<br /><br />8.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200310120sea.htm">October 12, 2003: @ Seahawks 20, Niners 19</a><br />This was a big early-season ESPN Sunday Night test for the 2003 Seahawks. Even though the Hawks came in 3-1 and SF was 2-3, the Niners were defending division champs and just a year earlier T.O. had humiliated Seattle on MNF with his infamous Sharpie stunt. The boys in blue ran out to a 17-0 lead, which evaporated into a 19-17 4th-quarter deficit. The Twelve Army watched anxiously as Josh Brown booted Seattle to a 20-19 lead with five minutes left, which was immediately followed by a Frisco march down the field. Thankfully Chad Brown forced a Garrison Hearst fumble in the final minutes, and the Seahawks' march towards the 2003 playoffs continued.<br /><br />7.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200709300sfo.htm">September 30, 2007: Seahawks 23 @ Niners 3</a> <br />Remember back in the mid '00s, when the national football press seemed to insist every fall that the glorious revival of the 49ers was jusssssst around the corner? Early in the 2007 season, a trip to Candlestick was supposed to be the changing of the guard. Then this happened:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MPX2xx1dFBI/TmaFvoOjpPI/AAAAAAAABdk/fRUXmp9T8VM/s1600/squished.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MPX2xx1dFBI/TmaFvoOjpPI/AAAAAAAABdk/fRUXmp9T8VM/s400/squished.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649349835881686258" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 281px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />SQUISHED! <br /><br />Yup, I have no problem reveling in the memory of Rocky Bernard smashing Alex Smith's shoulder into meat-flavored goop. I'd love to see Michael Bennett or Cliff Avril do likewise to Colin Kapernick. <br /><br />6.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200912060sea.htm">December 6, 2009: Seahawks 20, Niners 17</a> <br />The Niners arrived at Seahawks Stadium needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive against the pathetic MoraHawks. Though 2009 was an unmitigated clusterfuck, this was a spectacularly satisfying win... As I wrote in this space back then:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Let me say this clearly: Fuck the Niners. Fuck 'em. For all the bluster and chest-beating and media slobbering over them, these Niners haven't accomplished DICK yet. Nothing. Zilch. 2009 will be ANOTHER season that will end with them in their usual place: sitting at home, watching the playoffs. Once again, with feeling: FUCK the Niners. <br /><br />All week all we heard about was how Coach Bug Eyes and the big, mean 49ers were going to come into Seattle, pistol whip our players, pillage Pioneer Square and generally lay waste to all things Seahawks. Mr. Commercial Star Mike Singletary would motivate his talented minions to subjugate our poor, defenseless Seahawks on their way to reclaiming what the media sees as the SF birthright: the NFC West title.<br /><br />The Seahawks decided not to play the victim in this perfectly composed narrative. Of course, it helped that Singletary passed up 3 sure points by arrogantly going for it on 4th and goal early in the game. It also helped that the over-rated Frank Gore killed a Niners scoring drive in the 4th by coughing up the ball, and that Michael Crabtree was scared shitless by a charging Lawyer Milloy on what could have been SF's winning TD in the waning minutes. </span><br /><br />5.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201009120sea.htm">September 12, 2010: Seahawks 31, Niners 6</a><br />One year later, the Seahawks would notch an even more satisfying victory over SF in Pete Carroll's first game as Seattle's Head Coach. As I wrote back then:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It was rapturously awesome to see the Seahawks not just beat the 49ers, but physically punish and abuse them. Alex Smith was never going to be the next Montana or Young, but today we saw him just as lost and helpless as he was in 2007. The only difference between today and that game at the Stick three years ago was that Smith's shoulder survived.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />When was the last time the Hawks delivered such a cathartic win? Such a statement that not only would Seattle win the day, but that the future belonged to us too? Simultaneously, our hated rivals tumbled back into Limbo, into the dreary knowledge that the glorious Niner restoration STILL isn't happening. In the words of R.E.M., The Future Never Happened. <br /><br />There's already a lot of Seahawks fans trying to downplay this win. Fuck that. I predicted that the Seahawks would win the NFC West, and now I GUARANTEE they will... You, my friends, will have a home playoff game to watch in January. I will be at Qwest screaming until my soul spills out, and Mike Singletary and his Niners will be at home, watching on television.</span> <br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>And indeed, <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2011/01/seahawks-41-saints-36.html">my prophecies of 2010 came to pass</a>...<br /><br />4.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200312270sfo.htm">December 27, 2003: Seahawks 24 @ Niners 17</a> <br />The Seahawks went to Candlestick Park for a Saturday afternoon game just after Xmas, needing a win and some help the following day to qualify for the postseason for only the 2nd time since 1988. Seattle entered the game at 9-6, but sported a pathetic 1-6 road record coming into the game. Niners coach Dennis Erickson was hoping for a win to finish the season 8-8 (which was a habit he picked up back in Seattle during the 1990s), and to exact vengeance upon his old employers and the coach who replaced him in Seattle.<br /><br />The Hawks quickly fell behind 14-0, and lamentations of "same old Seahawks" rang out across the land like church bells. Another winning but playoff-free season loomed.. It was '78, '79, '86, and '90 allll over again... but the Seahawks clawed and gouged back into the game, and then something amazing happened late in the 3rd: <br /><br />Matt Hasselbeck threw a PERFECT pass to Koren Robinson in the back of the end zone... and K-rob (for once) HELD ONTO IT and got both feet in bounds. 21-17 Seahawks. Josh Brown extended the lead to 7, and Shaun Alexander ate up most of the 4th quarter on the ground. The D stopped a last-gasp Niners drive, and Seattle triumphed in a game very few expected them to win.<br /><br />3.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201309150sea.htm">September 15, 2013: Seahawks 29, Niners 3</a><br />I can't really top what I wrote about this one at the time:<br /><br /><i>Colin Kaepernick, darling of the national press, anointed for greatness by Jaworski, had ANOTHER atrocious evening at Seahawks Stadium, leaving him without excuses to lavish kisses upon his biceps. Frank Gore, who once provided a steady stream of nightmare fuel to faithful Twelves, was rendered irrelevant. Anquan Boldin, who ran through Green Bay defenders last week as if they were dandelions sprouting from the Candlestick Park turf, had one catch for seven yards... in garbage time. Seattle forced five Niner turnovers, and the defending NFC Champs started losing their cool in a manner not seen since the darkest days of Mike Singletary's reign. Against the rest of the NFL, they look like Champions. Against us? They're just a collection of posturing chumps.&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Marshawn Lynch has become the eater of Forty-Niner souls. He BARELY (by 2 yards) missed out on another 100-yard rushing day against SF, but his three TDs (and spectacular trolling of the Niners after TD #2) earned him offensive MVP honors in my book. Richard Sherman deserves special recognition for erasing Boldin, hauling in an interception, and even lowering the boom on a hapless SF wideout with a perfect, explosive tackle late in the game. Walter Thurmond III, Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett also stood out, but it took a total team effort to snuff out one of the NFL's elite offensive attacks.&nbsp;</i><br /><br />2. <a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201212230sea.htm">December 23, 2012: Seahawks 42, Niners 13</a><br />This game was our announcement to the football world: The Seahawks have arrived, and they are going to lay waste to the NFL. After the Hawks had already run out to a 14-0 lead, Kam Chancellor DESTROYED Vernon Davis with a clean (but unfairly flagged) hit. The Niners were in range for an easy field goal that would cut Seattle's lead to 11, but Red Bryant and Richard Sherman had other plans. Big Red blocked the kick, and Sherm scooped and scored. Seahawks Stadium was delirious and deafening, and the rout was ON.<br /><br />Russell Wilson threw four TD passes (two to Doug Baldwin), and Marshawn Lynch gashed the Niners vaunted defense for 130 yards and two TDs. Seattle defense ERASED Colin Kaepernick and Frank Gore, and 67,000 (or so) Twelves went home happy and hopeful.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201401190sea.htm">1. January 19, 2014: Seahawks 23, Niners 17</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J_Z9G2idiUk/VHYpOEOU2oI/AAAAAAAACoc/2vbKOdTcA5k/s1600/seattle-interception-b.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J_Z9G2idiUk/VHYpOEOU2oI/AAAAAAAACoc/2vbKOdTcA5k/s1600/seattle-interception-b.gif" height="221" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(As Marshawn Lynch might say: <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/01/seahawks-23-49ers-17.html">"Yeah."</a>)&nbsp;</div><br />What Do You Think, Sirs?<br /><br />http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/11/thoughts-on-thanksgiving-evetop-10.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-9010169711566204466Tue, 25 Nov 2014 19:17:00 +00002014-11-25T13:17:50.762-06:00Seahawks 19, Cardinals 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yhVKVcpKtU8/VHNatWowpyI/AAAAAAAACn8/9fZgfLJrS9M/s1600/ShermanCardinals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yhVKVcpKtU8/VHNatWowpyI/AAAAAAAACn8/9fZgfLJrS9M/s1600/ShermanCardinals.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div><br />Late November, 1999. The Seattle Seahawks were the surprise leaders of the AFC West at 8-2. They confounded expectations by pulling off big road upsets in Pittsburgh, Green Bay and Kansas City. Their aggressive defense was among the league leaders in takeaways, and young quarterback Jon Kitna unexpectedly shined over the season's first two-and-a-half months. The Hawks seemed to be on a trajectory that would land them in Atlanta for Super Bowl XXXIV. In week 12 they faced the 6-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Seattle was favored by a touchdown to prevail at home.<br /><br />Then <a href="http://www.fieldgulls.com/2010/3/25/1389015/i-am-jacks-broken-heart-my-1999">it all fell apart</a>.<br /><br />The Tampa defense terrorized Jon Kitna, sacking him three times and forcing him to commit six turnovers. The Bucs won 16-3, and they began a hot streak that would get them all the way to the NFC Championship Game. The Seahawks, now exposed (particularly in Kitna's case), imploded. They limped to a 9-7 finish, backed into the playoffs, and closed the Kingdome with a heartbreaking Wild Card loss to the Dolphins and the decrepit Dan Marino. A severe beating from a Championship defense irrevocably wounded the 1999 Seahawks.<br /><br />On Sunday, Seattle was on the other end of a similar equation. The Arizona Cardinals rolled in at 9-1, riding an opportunistic defense and the surprisingly solid performance of a young quarterback to the top slot in the NFC. Despite being a middling team in terms of advanced statistical measures, the Cardinals streaked to the NFL's best record by winning every "coin flip" game they played. The rival Seahawks came in at 6-4, needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. After a dominant 19-3 win, I think it's fair to ask: <i>Did the Seahawks just break the Cardinals?</i><br /><br />They certainly delivered their best defensive performance of the season, holding Arizona to three points and a paltry 204 yards of total offense. The narrative all season has been "what's wrong with Seattle's defense?" The statistics no longer support that narrative. At this point, with that unit inching closer to full health, they lead the NFL in total yards allowed and are 7th in scoring defense. They relentlessly pressured Drew Stanton with their front four while the Legion of Boom had a radar lock on his potential targets. First the first time since September, the Seahawks defense looked as overpowering as they did in 2013 (in no small part thanks to the return of Bobby Wagner), and capable of smothering the enemy.<br /><br />Special teams also approached their stratospheric performance of a year ago (with the exception of on blocked Hauschka field goal attempt), blocking a punt and dominating field position with exceptional punt coverage and workmanlike returns from Bryan Walters. Offensively, the Hawks still lack a real vertical threat (which is my main source of concern about their Super Bowl prospects), but they've built the most potent ground attack in football. With Marshawn Lynch battling a stomach ailment, Russell Wilson led the team in rushing with 73 yards on 10 carries (Wilson is on pace for 937 yards rushing on the season), and had one of his best passing performances of the season (17/22 for 211 yards and a TD for a 121.6 rating). Play-calling and Red Zone efficiency are still grave concerns, but it's hard to consider Seattle's offense punchless when they are 11th the NFL in scoring.<br /><br />The formula that led Seattle to the Super Bowl last season was a punishing ground game punctuated by the occasional deep shot, plus a suffocating defense that consistently won the turnover battle, and otherworldly special teams. It appears that they've restored the rushing attack and the elite defensive performance. If they can find a way to stretch the field (Please step up, Kearse and Richardson), find consistency on special teams, and force more turnovers, they have an excellent chance of repeating as World Champions.<br /><br />Seattle has no chance to savor that season-saving win as a trip to Santa Clara looms on Thanksgiving Night, with the winner pointed towards winning the NFC West (I predict Arizona will stagger to an 11-5 finish. It won't be as spectacular a collapse as the 1999 Seahawks, but it will keep them from winning the NFC West) and the loser left to desperately claw uphill towards the playoffs. The Hawks have won 4 out 5, and I think they're set to author the franchise's greatest Thanksgiving moment since their 1986 upset win at Texas Stadium. After that? Look out for a '99-Bucs-esque deep playoff run. The difference will be Seattle won't fall in the NFC Championship, and the Cardinals will have to watch their feathered northern rivals celebrate a Championship on their home field.<br /><br />Would You Like To Know More?http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/11/seahawks-19-cardinals-3.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-1020199191682233541Wed, 19 Nov 2014 20:39:00 +00002014-11-19T17:15:42.619-06:00Top 10: Seahawks Beat Cardinals! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hn1Yf6HLY9w/VGzxOr4WAgI/AAAAAAAACnk/X27WzXOM104/s1600/ap071209026641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hn1Yf6HLY9w/VGzxOr4WAgI/AAAAAAAACnk/X27WzXOM104/s1600/ap071209026641.jpg" height="282" width="400"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Hawks have played the nomadic Cardinals 30 times over the years, but none of those match-ups were as important as this upcoming Sunday's "Last Stand" at Seahawks Stadium. A win would keep Seattle alive in both the NFC West and Wild Card races, while a loss would erase any hope of a divisional title and push the Hawks to the brink of playoff elimination. Oddly, our rivalry with the Cardinals has never approached the intensity of our battles with the Rams in the mid-00s or our current blood feud with Santa Clara. That's partially due to circumstance: We've rarely been good at the same time. On top of that, the games themselves have tended toward not being particularly memorable. Since Seattle joined the NFC West in 2002, they're 13-11 against Arizona (Before that? 1-5 against STL/Phoenix/Arizona). Here's the ten most noteworthy/memorable Seattle wins over the Cardinals. Enjoy!&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200309140crd.htm">10. 9/14/03 Seahawks 38 @ Cardinals 0</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The 98-degree heat at Sun Devil Stadium didn't seem to faze the Seahawks, as they ran out to a 24-0 half-time lead and cruised to an easy shut out win. Darrell Jackson only caught 3 passes, but they accounted for 133 yards and 2 TDs. The defense forced six turnovers and scored on a Randall Godfrey fumble return. This would be Seattle's last road win of 2003 until the season finale at Candlestick Park (The Hawks went 8-0 at home and 2-7 on the road in '03, including the playoffs).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">9<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199809130sea.htm">. 9/13/98: Seahawks 33, Cardinals 14</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This was our first ever win over the Cards, after five losses from 1976-1995. Shawn Springs and Willie Williams both took Jake Plummer INTs all the way back for scores, Ricky Watters gashed the Cards for 116 yards from scrimmage, and Michael Sinclair notched 2.5 of Seattle's 7 sacks.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Odd coda: Arizona would recover to go 9-5 down the stretch, make the playoffs, and beat NFC East (huh?) rivals Dallas in the Wild Card game. The Seahawks? Um, well... there was that Phantom Touchdown later on, but overall they went 6-8 over the remainder of 1998 and got Dennis Erickson canned. &nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">8<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201109250sea.htm">. 9/25/11: Seahawks 13, Cardinals 10&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I have to confess that the only reason this one made the list was because <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2011/09/seahawks-13-cardinals-10.html">I happened to be at the game</a>. Otherwise it was a fairly forgettable affair, beyond the charity of a close friend:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>There was a lone hopeful event that boosted my spirits, however- Given that my only Seahawks jersey was a Matt Hasselbeck model, I needed to get a new one on my visit out to Seattle. I decided that I would take advantage of the deal being offered at the Seahawks Stadium Pro Shop: Turn in any old Seahawks jersey and get 25% off a new one. For me, that meant I'd have to part with my #8, and give up the dream that I'd wear it someday to his Ring of Honor ceremony. It was a sad thing to contemplate, but given that I'm not exactly flush with cash right now, it seemed like a necessary sacrifice.&nbsp;</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>That was until my close friend Katie stepped in and said (as I remember it) "No way. You LOVED Hasselbeck, and I remember you defending him when I was crapping all over him- You explained to me what he meant to this team- There's no way I'm letting you trade that in."&nbsp;</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>She offered up her own old Julius Jones jersey, and I ended up getting my SWEET new Earl Thomas jersey at a discounted price. She also reminded me that blind optimism is pretty much my best quality as a Seahawks fan- Her gesture re-energized me for Sunday's game.</i>&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">7<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201010240sea.htm">. 10/24/10 Seahawks 22, Cardinals 10</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">6<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201011140crd.htm">. 11/14/10 Seahawks 38 @ Cardinals 16</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The 2010 Seahawks only won 7 games on their way to the NFC West title, and two of them were against Arizona. In the October game at Seattle, Marshawn Lynch ground out 89 yards on 24 carries, while Big Mike Williams snared 11 catches for 87 yards and the Hawks' lone touchdown. A few weeks later BMW completed his dominance of the Cards with ANOTHER 11 catches for 145 yards. Matt Hasselbeck had one of his last great games, completing 24 of 33 passes for 333 yards and a touchdown.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200509250sea.htm">5. 9/25/05: Seahawks 37, Cardinals 12</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200511060crd.htm">4. 11/6/05: Seahawks 33 @ Cardinals 19</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In two games against Arizona in 2005, Shaun Alexander rushed for 313 yards a SIX touchdowns! Four of those scores came in the September matchup in Seattle, which was actually fairly competitive until the Hawks pulled away in the 4th. The Seahawks defense contributed 3 sacks, two takeaways, and kept the Cardinals out of the endzone for the full 60.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Rightly so, the rematch in Tempe is remembered for Shaun Alexander's 88-yard TD scamper and 173-yard, 2-TD overall performance. But it's easy to forget that for a moment it looked like the Seahawks would implode. A 27-9 lead got whittled down to 27-19 in the 4th, but thankfully the league MVP salted the victory away with another touchdown. This was the moment where Shaun Alexander became a legitimate MVP candidate in the eyes of the national football press. &nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200412260sea.htm">3. 12/26/04 Seahawks 24, Cardinals 21</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Seattle knew that with one win over their final two games in 2004, they'd make the playoffs. Up to that point, <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2011/07/blue-ruin-my-2004-seahawks-story.html">2004 had been an absolute nightmare for Twelves</a>: The blown 17-point 4th quarter lead to the Rams, the MNF collapse v Dallas, and an embarrassing blowout home loss to Buffalo had scarred the Twelve Army badly. Still, they were on the verge of the playoffs, which was a very novel experience for Hawks fans still stung by <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/search?q=forgotten+years">The Forgotten Years</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">For any other fan base, Shaun Alexander's 4th quarter TD to put Seattle up 24-7 would have been cause for celebration, but we all were waiting for the terrible rain of anvils, and it looked like we'd all get splattered into oblivion when the Cardinals pulled within three late. Frankly, Trent Dilfer had an awful day subbing for Matt Hasselbeck: 10-26 for 128 yards and an INT. But on a key 3rd down late in the 4th quarter, he somehow outraced multiple Arizona defenders to the first down marker, allowing Seattle to kneel their way to a wayyy-too-stressful victory and a playoff berth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201212090sea.htm">2. 12/9/12: Seahawks 58, Cardinals 0</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The most dominant win in team history. Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin both topped 100 yards rushing, and Seattle racked up 284 total yards rushing. The defense not only shut out the Cardinals, they outscored them with Richard Sherman's interception return TD (one of EIGHT Seattle takeaways). As I wrote back then:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Today's 58-0 victory over the Arizona Cardinals was less like a football game, and more like that scene in Drive where Ryan Gosling's character doesn't just disarm a mob gun thug or even merely kill him. He stomps on that fucker's head so many times that it ended up resembling a watermelon from Gallagher's act, and he's left splattered in the blood and brains of his murdered foe. THAT is what the Seahawks did to Arizona.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200712090sea.htm">1. 12/9/07: Seahawks 42, Cardinals 21</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Arizona came into this one needing a win to pull within one game of Seattle for the NFC West lead. The Seahawks would clinch a 4th consecutive NFC West title with a victory. They wouldn't blow the opportunity, jumping out to a 24-0 lead before cruising to an easy victory. Kurt Warner threw for 337 yards and 3 TDs, but was also picked (and sacked) 5 times. Hasselbeck tossed 4 TDs, and Marcus Trufant delivered the death blow with an 84-yard pick six in the final quarter.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As for this Sunday? It'll occupy the top spot on the next version of this list. <b>Seahawks 29, Cardinals 22.&nbsp;</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">What do you think, sirs?&nbsp;</div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/11/top-10-seahawks-beat-cardinals.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237610160312318565.post-8930409921465836189Tue, 18 Nov 2014 23:03:00 +00002014-11-18T22:12:41.463-06:00The Bag of Skittles is (More Than) Half Full<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xhEC6srtdQg/VGupaGl47tI/AAAAAAAACnU/KKP1VZ2k6CM/s1600/lynchchiefs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xhEC6srtdQg/VGupaGl47tI/AAAAAAAACnU/KKP1VZ2k6CM/s1600/lynchchiefs.jpg" height="400" width="351" /></a></div><br /><i>"They're too battered by injuries."</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"The schedule is too difficult."</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"They're torn apart by internal dissension."</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"The Seahawks are done."</i><br /><br />The chatter from the national football press and within the Twelve Army is becoming Borg-like in its unanimity. This wisdom has become conventional: The post-Super Bowl hangover has hit Seattle HARD, and now they're a long-shot to even make it to the playoffs. Facing a gauntlet of division rivals and playoff-bound foes over the final six weeks, the Hawks are likely to join the sad litany of Super Bowl Champions who failed to even defend their title in the following postseason.<br /><br />I'll let Arnold Schwarzenegger speak for me on this one:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/h-pW0uX1wTs/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/h-pW0uX1wTs&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/h-pW0uX1wTs&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Maybe the problem is that I look at this from a fundamentally different perspective than most other Twelves (or the football press in general)? Obviously, if you're comparing this team to last year's, there's a discernable drop-off. Free agent losses, injuries and "Blowing Percy Harvin out the airlock President Roslin-style" have severely tested Seattle's depth. The defense has dropped out of the top 10 in terms points per game, and takeaways and sacks have also dropped precipitously. While the offense is still putting up 26 points per game, and the Hawks have cobbled together the NFL's best rushing attack, the lack of a vertical threat and the decline of Russell Wilson's passing efficiency has left Seattle offensively one-dimensional. We've seen the biggest decline in performance (compared to 2013) from our special teams. Indeed, one of Seattle's four losses is DIRECTLY attributable to special teams breakdowns (@ STL).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The question is... What conclusions do you draw from that evidence?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For example, on Sunday we suffered what felt like our 173rd excruciating defeat at Arrowhead, in which a valiant team effort was undercut by yet another injury (this time to Max Unger) and offensive play-calling that was at best questionable. Seattle won the turnover battle, won time of possession, and outgained the Chiefs, but still lost. For the 4th time this season, the Seahawks lost a game they had a chance to win or tie within the last five minutes. They're not closing out games like they did last year, right? Super Bowl Hangover!!! Hell, maybe it's the awful wrath of the Madden Curse. OR....&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Those losses were to legitimate Super Bowl contenders (Chiefs, Cowboys), a playoff darkhorse with a winning record (Chargers) and to a team that also bested the Broncos and Niners (Rams). The Hawks have been in the Top 5 of the ELO and DVOA rankings all season, and those advanced statistical measures are probably more accurate descriptions of reality than the dominant "Seahawks are hung over, squabbling and doomed" narrative. The Hawks are 2-4 in "coin flip" games this season. The good news about coin flips? They're not fated to automatically go AGAINST you indefinitely into the future.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Let's talk about that "dissension" part of the conventional wisdom. Buried in an article&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000429581/article/marshawn-lynch-expresses-frustration-after-loss-to-chiefs">ostensibly about the deep rifts in the Seahawks locker room</a>, was this quote from 2014 team MVP Marshawn Lynch:&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>"I don't think there's any problem with what we've got going on," he said. "We've just gotta let it fall and keep fighting. We've got a lot of ball to go. These are challenges for us. That's one thing we have been good at, facing the challenges. I think it can be accomplished."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>When asked if the Seahawks were a "championship team," Lynch became animated.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>"Is this a championship team? Yeah, yeah, we've got the heart of a champion," he said. "When you've got players like Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor -- you're about to make me name the whole damn roster -- and there's some young guys whose names a lot of people don't know who bring a lot of fight. I always look at the best of our team. So ... hell yeah. I would have to be a fool to say no."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The internet is ABLAZE with stories about how Marshawn Lynch is a malcontent, but it's telling that the above quote was tucked away at the bottom of an article about Beast Mode being "frustrated." Maybe I'm hopelessly myopic, but it's hard for me to look at Lynch and see anything but one of the most intense, most valuable players to EVER wear a Seattle uniform (in any sport, frankly). If he still believes, why shouldn't we?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">That schedule is daunting, though, right? I'm sure everyone already knows that Seattle has the toughest remaining schedule in the league. Let's take a closer look. Arizona at home? There's a reason we're 6.5 point favorites, and it's not just because Vegas LOVES us. The Cardinals have ridiculously over-performed so far this season, and they are FAR overdue for a "market correction," particularly with Drew Stanton under center. At Santa Clara? They've already lost to Chicago and St. Louis in their new digs, so there's no reason to assume Seattle couldn't leave victorious as well. At Philadelphia? Seattle benefits from a rare late kickoff on the East Coast, and once again facing a back-up QB (in Mark Sanchez). The last three games are within the NFC West (Santa Clara, @ Arizona, St. Louis), and are likely to be... you guessed it... "Coin-flip" games. By then, we'll almost certainly have Unger and Bobby Wagner back on the field, though. My gut feeling is that the Seahawks will need to beat the Rams in Week 17 to make the playoffs, and that one will be a classic "triple barf bag" affair.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Pete Carroll has been in charge for 4+ seasons now, and we've never seen his Seahawks give less than maximum effort. They are mentally tough enough to fight their way into the postseason tournament, and we don't have to delve into antiquity to find precedents for Seattle riding a hot streak into the playoffs. In 2012, they started 6-4, but exploded through the finish line at 11-5. If this team can emulate that sort of performance, they'd likely draw a game at the sub-.500 NFC South Champs in the Wild Card round. After that? Maybe a 3rd matchup with Arizona in the divisional round. It's not delusional to see a path back to the NFC Championship for these Seahawks, and with recent NFL history LITTERED with 11-5 (or worse) Super Bowl winners, why can't this Seattle team go forth and do likewise?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">What we've seen from this team in recent years suggests that they've still got some surprises in store for us. Barreling into the playoffs on a hot streak seems much more likely than the Hawks succumbing to a 7-9 death spiral, doesn't it? Maybe my expectations are too low. Maybe I'm just odd, but I'm energized by the situation we find ourselves in: Underdogs, with the football world rooting for us to fail. I <a href="http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2010/12/spirit-of-83.html">didn't give up hope when we were 6-9 back in 2010</a>. Why the fuck would I resign myself to doom and failure now?&nbsp;</div>http://davekriegsstrikebeard.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-bag-of-skittles-is-more-than-half.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ramona P. )1